Development and Validation of Domestic Violence Myths Scale
Niwako Yamawaki,
Psychology
Domestic violence has become a major threat to family well-being. However, one obstacle that may prevent victims of domestic violence from receiving appropriate social support is myths of domestic violence. These myths generally suggest that the victim is responsible for the abuse and minimize the seriousness and scope of the problem. Together, these myths may reduce formal and informal social support for victims by transforming them from innocent victims of a potentially lethal crime to individuals who consciously or unconsciously involved in being abused. While there is widespread awareness of the existence of domestic violence myths, the effects of these myths have not been empirically tested. This is in part due to the fact that there are no reliable and valid measures of domestic violence myths. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop and validate a reliable and valid scale to identify myths of domestic violence.
