Psychometric Evaluation of a Multicultural Instrument: Normalization of Gender-Based Violence Against Women Scale

Normalization of Gender-based violence (NGBV) encompasses cultural norms and beliefs that maintain or minimize recognition of GBV perpetration. Internalized NGBV can inhibit self-disclosure and help-seeking for GBV survivors. Due to the scarcity of instruments addressing this, this paper aims to assess the psychometric properties of the Normalization of Gender-Based Violence against Women (NGBV) instrument, a 13-item, to understand its utility for research and practice, among GBV survivors from various cultural contexts.

Participants include GBV survivors (N = 361) from an online health research portal in the United States and online platforms in Greece and Italy. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted. Known group, convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated using Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), Primary Care Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PC-PTSD), Domestic Violence Myth Acceptance Scale (DVMAS), Internal Barriers to Help Seeking-Trauma version (BHS-TR) and the Sense of Meaning Inventory (SOMI).

EFA using ProMax rotation showed a three-factor structure: women’s ideals, normative gendered role performance, and beliefs supporting violence. CFA showed good fit indices indicating adequate model fit (CFI = 0.941, TLI = 0.926, RMSEA = 0.050, NFI = 0.885). Cronbach’s alpha values indicated acceptable internal consistency (total scale α = 0.81). Significant positive correlations were found between NGBV and DVMAS (r = 0.54) and BHS-TR (r = 0.18), and a significant negative correlation with SOMI (r= -0.20). Regression analysis showed a significant relationship between NGBV and PTSD symptoms F (1, 360) = 7.5, p = 0.06).

Measuring internalized NGBV with a valid and reliable scale is crucial for understanding its impact on help-seeking and recovery process for GBV survivors. Future research should confirm and extend these findings across various settings and cultural groups.