Establishing the Content Validity of Threats, Physical Violence and Rape Against Women Across Two National Surveys

• NCJ Number: 229552
• Journal: International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 33 Issue: 2 Dated: Fall 2009 Pages: 249-271
• Author(s): Veronique Jaquier; Bonnie S. Fisher
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 23 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This comparative analysis of America's National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) and Switzerland's component of the International Violence Against Women Survey (CH-IVAWS) focuses on three post-hoc criteria: the inclusion of identical survey items, standardization of the reference period, and consideration of the perpetrator's sex.

Abstract

Except for the language used, the survey questions in the two surveys were comparable in wording as to the type of victimization to which each question referred. For each type of victimization, both similar and different violent acts were addressed in each survey's questions; yet, of the 15 acts of physical violence included in the surveys, only 12 acts were addressed in both surveys. Regarding rape, four of the seven acts were included in both surveys. The completed rape measure included only three survey items present in both surveys. Standardizing the reference period for when the incident occurred is another important aspect in creating comparable victimization measures. Although both surveys asked respondents about their lifetime prevalence of victimization experiences, the reference period in the original NVAWS and CH-IVAWS differ. The NVAWS explicitly asked respondents about their lifetime experience, but the CH-IVAWS asked respondents about incidents that occurred after they were 16 years old. In order to maximize the comparability of the victimization estimates of the two surveys, the reference period had to be adjusted in the process of using each victimization measure. Regarding the perpetrator's sex, the CH-IVAWS referred only to males as perpetrators of violence against women; whereas, the relevant NVAWS question referred to both males and females as perpetrators. In order to ensure comparability with the NVAWS, acts committed by female offenders were excluded from the analyses, regardless of the type of victim-perpetrator relationship. 4 tables, 6 notes, 19 references, and appended wording of victimization screening questions in 2 surveys