Testing the Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationship Inventory

• NCJ Number: 254035
• Journal: Psychological Assessment Volume: 31 Issue: 3 Dated: 2019 Pages: 410-416
• Author(s): Ryan C. Shorey; Allan Nicholas; Joseph R. Cohen; Paula J. Fite; Gregory L. Stuart
• Date Published: 2019
• Length: 7 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2016-R2-CX-0035; 2012-WG-BX-0005
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Test/Measurement; Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Award: Continuation of Dating It Safe: A Longitudinal Study on Teen Dating Violence; A longitudinal examination of teen dating violence from adolescence to young adulthood

Annotation

This study conducted a confirmatory factor analysis of the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationship Inventory (CADRI; Wolfe et al., 2001) and tested whether the factor structure was invariant across sex, race/ethnicity, and time.

Abstract

Intimate-partner violence (IPV) in adolescent and young-adult dating relationships is a prevalent and serious public health problem. The measurement of IPV across adolescence has commonly relied on the CADRI, which postulates five distinct yet related types of IPV (i.e., threatening, verbal/emotional, relational, physical, and sexual); however, the CADRI has received minimal examination to confirm its factor structure, in particular, whether the factor structure is invariant across sex, race/ethnicity, and time, despite the clinical use of this measure for screening and treatment purposes. The current study conducted a confirmatory factor analysis of the CADRI and tested whether the factor structure was invariant across sex, race/ethnicity, and time. Adolescents (N = 1,042, 56 percent girls, mean age at baseline = 15.09, SD = 0.79) from high schools in the southwestern United States completed the CADRI annually for six consecutive years. Results confirmed the five-factor structure of the CADRI and demonstrated measurement invariance across sex, race/ethnicity, and time. The findings suggest that the CADRI captures five related but distinct types of IPV and that use of the CADRI is appropriate across sex, race/ethnicity, and time. (publisher abstract modified)