NCJ Number
200760
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 9 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2003 Pages: 859-878
Date Published
July 2003
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article examines the validity and reliability of three domestic violence instruments that were translated into versions for use with women from Brazil, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.
Abstract
Translating any measurement instrument into another language can have a profound effect on the validity and reliability of the instrument. The type of translation technique is important because the internal structure of the measurement instrument changes when it is adapted for use with different cultures. The Abuse Assessment Screen, Severity of Violence Against Women Scales, and Appraisal of Violent Situations scales were translated using the back translation procedure. Sixteen women from Puerto Rico completed each of the scales in both English and Spanish with instructions to explain any differences in their answers between the English and Spanish language versions. Overall, the results showed that, of the 14 women who indicated abuse, 9 women gave consistent answers on both the English and Spanish versions. Five women gave inconsistent answers without providing an explanation for their divergent answers. Statistical evaluation of the results indicated that there was a high degree of correlation between the Spanish and English versions of the measurements. The authors note that there are many diverse ethnic and cultural groups who speak Spanish, and as such, it is important to translate measurement instruments into the appropriate cultural context in order to gain the greatest degree of validity and reliability. More research is necessary to explore the cross-cultural differences among populations so that appropriate translations can be made for each population. Figures, references