Confirmatory factor analysis of the WHO Violence Against Women instrument in pregnant women: results from the BRISA prenatal cohort.

BACKGROUND: Screening for violence during pregnancy is one of the strategies for the prevention of abuse against women. Since violence is difficult to measure, it is necessary to validate questionnaires that can provide a good measure of the phenomenon. The present study analyzed the psychometric pr...

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Main Authors: Marizélia Rodrigues Costa Ribeiro, Maria Teresa Seabra Soares de Britto e Alves, Rosângela Fernandes Lucena Batista, Cecília Cláudia Costa Ribeiro, Lilia Blima Schraiber, Marco Antônio Barbieri, Heloisa Bettiol, Antônio Augusto Moura da Silva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4274028?pdf=render
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author Marizélia Rodrigues Costa Ribeiro
Maria Teresa Seabra Soares de Britto e Alves
Rosângela Fernandes Lucena Batista
Cecília Cláudia Costa Ribeiro
Lilia Blima Schraiber
Marco Antônio Barbieri
Heloisa Bettiol
Antônio Augusto Moura da Silva
author_facet Marizélia Rodrigues Costa Ribeiro
Maria Teresa Seabra Soares de Britto e Alves
Rosângela Fernandes Lucena Batista
Cecília Cláudia Costa Ribeiro
Lilia Blima Schraiber
Marco Antônio Barbieri
Heloisa Bettiol
Antônio Augusto Moura da Silva
author_sort Marizélia Rodrigues Costa Ribeiro
collection DOAJ
description BACKGROUND: Screening for violence during pregnancy is one of the strategies for the prevention of abuse against women. Since violence is difficult to measure, it is necessary to validate questionnaires that can provide a good measure of the phenomenon. The present study analyzed the psychometric properties of the World Health Organization Violence Against Women (WHO VAW) instrument for the measurement of violence against pregnant women. METHODS: Data from the Brazilian Ribeirão Preto and São Luís birth cohort studies (BRISA) were used. The sample consisted of 1,446 pregnant women from São Luís and 1,378 from Ribeirão Preto, interviewed in 2010 and 2011. Thirteen variables were selected from a self-applied questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to investigate whether violence is a uni-or-multidimensional construct consisting of psychological, physical and sexual dimensions. The mean-and-variance-adjusted weighted least squares estimator was used. Models were fitted separately for each city and a third model combining data from the two settings was also tested. Models suggested from modification indices were tested to determine whether changes in the WHO VAW model would produce a better fit. RESULTS: The unidimensional model did not show good fit (Root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA]  = 0.060, p < 0.001 for the combined model). The multidimensional WHO VAW model showed good fit (RMSEA = 0.036, p = 0.999 for the combined model) and standardized factor loadings higher than 0.70, except for the sexual dimension for SL (0.65). The models suggested by the modification indices with cross loadings measuring simultaneously physical and psychological violence showed a significantly better fit compared to the original WHO model (p < 0.001 for the difference between the model chi-squares). CONCLUSIONS: Violence is a multidimensional second-order construct consisting of psychological, physical and sexual dimensions. The WHO VAW model and the modified models are suitable for measuring violence against pregnant women.
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spelling doaj.art-355b0f20a7914be5a0e02b854517f9c42022-12-21T23:31:21ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-01912e11538210.1371/journal.pone.0115382Confirmatory factor analysis of the WHO Violence Against Women instrument in pregnant women: results from the BRISA prenatal cohort.Marizélia Rodrigues Costa RibeiroMaria Teresa Seabra Soares de Britto e AlvesRosângela Fernandes Lucena BatistaCecília Cláudia Costa RibeiroLilia Blima SchraiberMarco Antônio BarbieriHeloisa BettiolAntônio Augusto Moura da SilvaBACKGROUND: Screening for violence during pregnancy is one of the strategies for the prevention of abuse against women. Since violence is difficult to measure, it is necessary to validate questionnaires that can provide a good measure of the phenomenon. The present study analyzed the psychometric properties of the World Health Organization Violence Against Women (WHO VAW) instrument for the measurement of violence against pregnant women. METHODS: Data from the Brazilian Ribeirão Preto and São Luís birth cohort studies (BRISA) were used. The sample consisted of 1,446 pregnant women from São Luís and 1,378 from Ribeirão Preto, interviewed in 2010 and 2011. Thirteen variables were selected from a self-applied questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to investigate whether violence is a uni-or-multidimensional construct consisting of psychological, physical and sexual dimensions. The mean-and-variance-adjusted weighted least squares estimator was used. Models were fitted separately for each city and a third model combining data from the two settings was also tested. Models suggested from modification indices were tested to determine whether changes in the WHO VAW model would produce a better fit. RESULTS: The unidimensional model did not show good fit (Root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA]  = 0.060, p < 0.001 for the combined model). The multidimensional WHO VAW model showed good fit (RMSEA = 0.036, p = 0.999 for the combined model) and standardized factor loadings higher than 0.70, except for the sexual dimension for SL (0.65). The models suggested by the modification indices with cross loadings measuring simultaneously physical and psychological violence showed a significantly better fit compared to the original WHO model (p < 0.001 for the difference between the model chi-squares). CONCLUSIONS: Violence is a multidimensional second-order construct consisting of psychological, physical and sexual dimensions. The WHO VAW model and the modified models are suitable for measuring violence against pregnant women.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4274028?pdf=render
spellingShingle Marizélia Rodrigues Costa Ribeiro
Maria Teresa Seabra Soares de Britto e Alves
Rosângela Fernandes Lucena Batista
Cecília Cláudia Costa Ribeiro
Lilia Blima Schraiber
Marco Antônio Barbieri
Heloisa Bettiol
Antônio Augusto Moura da Silva
Confirmatory factor analysis of the WHO Violence Against Women instrument in pregnant women: results from the BRISA prenatal cohort.
PLoS ONE
title Confirmatory factor analysis of the WHO Violence Against Women instrument in pregnant women: results from the BRISA prenatal cohort.
title_full Confirmatory factor analysis of the WHO Violence Against Women instrument in pregnant women: results from the BRISA prenatal cohort.
title_fullStr Confirmatory factor analysis of the WHO Violence Against Women instrument in pregnant women: results from the BRISA prenatal cohort.
title_full_unstemmed Confirmatory factor analysis of the WHO Violence Against Women instrument in pregnant women: results from the BRISA prenatal cohort.
title_short Confirmatory factor analysis of the WHO Violence Against Women instrument in pregnant women: results from the BRISA prenatal cohort.
title_sort confirmatory factor analysis of the who violence against women instrument in pregnant women results from the brisa prenatal cohort
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4274028?pdf=render
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