Validation of the Short-Form Reproductive Coercion Scale with Appalachian Women.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE\nThe purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale among a sample of Appalachian women.\n\n\nSTUDY DESIGN\nWe recruited a purposive sample of Appalachian women, using targeted Facebook ads to collect data via an online survey in fall 2019. We randomly split our sample into two independent samples and used exploratory factor analysis on sample 1 (N=314) and confirmatory factor analysis on sample 2 (N=314) in order to cross-validate our findings.\n\n\nRESULTS\nFindings indicated that the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale is a valid and reliable instrument to assess reproductive coercion among this sample of Appalachian women. Our findings indicated that, in this Appalachian sample, the reduced, five-item Reproductive Coercion Scale measured a unidimensional construct and was not comprised of the multiple dimensions of pregnancy coercion and condom manipulation. As expected, intimate partner violence and pregnancy fatalism were significantly and positively associated with reproductive coercion while religious affiliation and insurance status were not significantly associated with reproductive coercion. These findings help build construct validity for the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale with this sample.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nWhile pregnancy coercion and condom manipulation are often considered independent reproductive coercion factors, the current study indicates that, in this Appalachian sample, the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale measures a single latent reproductive coercion factor.