Measuring Violence Risk and Outcomes Among Mexican American Adolescent Females

• NCJ Number: 233197
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2006 Pages: 24-41
• Author(s): Richard C. Cervantes; Norma Duenas; Avelardo Valdez; Charles Kaplan
• Date Published: January 2006
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study was conducted to determine the psychometric properties of two commonly used violence measures, in this case for Mexican-American adolescent females.

Abstract

Central to the development of culturally competent violence prevention programs for Hispanic youth is the development of psychometrically sound violence risk and outcome measures for this population. The Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) and the Past Feelings and Acts of Violence Scale (PFAV) were analyzed to examine their interitem reliability, criterion validity, and discriminant validity. A sample of 150 low-risk and 150 high-risk adolescent females was studied. Discriminant validity was indicated by the perpetrator negotiation scale and by the victim psychological aggression and sexual coercion scales of the CTS2 and the PFAV. Analysis indicates that the CTS2 scales and the PFAV demonstrate adequate reliability, whereas strong criterion validity was evidenced by eight of the CTS2 scales and the PFAV. (Published Abstract)