Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Date

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

James Whelan

Committee Member

Gayle Beck

Committee Member

Katie Edwards

Committee Member

Rane Ankney

Abstract

The Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory Short Form (PMWI-SF) is a widely used measure of psychological IPV that is comprised of two, 7-item subscales (emotional/verbal abuse and dominance/isolation). Since its development, few studies have examined the PMWI-SF’s psychometric properties. The current study examined the PMWI-SF’s 2-factor structure via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in a sample of 319 women survivors of IPV. The current study also provided an updated profile of the PMWI-SF’s construct validity with evaluation of the inventory’s internal structure for each subscale (i.e., internal consistency) and its relations to other variables (i.e., convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity). The initial 1- and 2-factor model evidenced poor model fit, and the model was adjusted using modification indices. The modified 2-factor model evidenced acceptable model fit, confirming the 2-factor structure of the PMWI-SF. Weak correlations were noted between each PMWI-SF subscale and measures of schizoid personality disorder, income, and education, demonstrating good discriminant validity. Moderate correlations were observed between the PMWI-SF subscales and the psychological subscale of the Conflict Tactics Scale-2 (CTS2), indicating good concurrent validity. The physical aggression subscale was moderately correlated with the PMWI-SF subscales. A weak correlation was noted between the emotional/verbal subscale of the PMWI-SF with the CTS-2 sexual coercion subscale, whereas the dominance/isolation subscale was moderately correlated with the sexual coercion subscale, indicating fair convergent validity. Lastly, the two subscales of the PMWI-SF evidenced excellent internal reliability. Results of this study converge with and extend the broader psychometric literature on the PMWI-SF and provide support for its use to measure psychological IPV. Issues related to scale development and broader limitations within study of psychological IPV are discussed.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest/Clarivate.

Notes

Open Access

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