Psychometric Assessment of Interpersonal Violence Survey: Workplace Violence Scales in the Department of the Air Force

• Activity Number: 197 - SPAAC Poster Competition
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 8, 2022 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Social Statistics Section
• Author(s): Leah Pound and Sarah Stutts* and Caitlin Cox
• Companies: US Air Force and US Air Force and US Air Force
• Keywords: Survey assessment; Factor analysis; Workplace violence; Air Force; Latent variable modeling; Psychometric scale

Abstract

The Secretary of the Air Force established the Interpersonal Violence (IPV) Task Force in 2020 to examine whether the Air Force keeps Airmen and Guardians who experience IPV safe. The Task Force examined multiple behaviors along the continuum of harm, including sexual assault, dating violence, family violence, and workplace violence. Survey participants who experienced at least one workplace bullying (WB), harassment (WHR), or hazing (WHZ) behavior were analyzed. Samples were tested using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to evaluate the factor structure followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to confirm the proposed structure in an independent sample. Refined constructs were confirmed as adequate to good fit using fit indices CFI and RMSEA. Ordinal ? indicated adequate to good internal consistency across scales. Measurement invariance was tested using Multi-Group CFA. Baseline, threshold, and strong invariance holds for sex, race, and employment across behavior experiences. Preliminary evidence suggests that WB, WHR, and WHZ subscales are valid instruments and can be used in screening and assessment of these behavioral experiences.