Assessing intimate partner violence: The psychometric functioning of a new tool

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a major public health and human rights issue affecting millions of women worldwide. Although several instruments have been developed to assess IPV, many focus primarily on physical and sexual violence or do not comprehensively capture the multidimensional nature of abusive relationships. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Intimate Partner Violence Inventory (IPV-I), a new Italian self-report instrument designed to assess five forms of IPV: psychological violence, physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, and economic violence. A total of 1139 women participated in the study. Construct validity was assessed through associations with external measures of trauma-related affect (VITA), depressive symptoms (Teate Depression Inventory), psychological distress (Impact of Event Scale), Shame (Other as Shamer Scale), and coping strategies (Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences–New Italian Version Inventory-25). Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) supported a five-factor correlated structure corresponding to the hypothesized dimensions of psychological violence, sexual violence, physical violence, stalking, and economic violence. The final 30-item version demonstrated satisfactory model fit, good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .74–.91), and evidence of construct validity through the expected pattern of associations with external measures. Overall, these findings indicate that the IPV-I is a psychometrically sound multidimensional assessment inventory of IPV. By capturing both commonly recognized and less visible forms of abuse, such as economic violence and stalking, the IPV-I may facilitate a more comprehensive assessment of women's experiences of intimate partner violence in research and clinical settings.