Journal of zyxwvutsrqponml Traumatic Stress. Vol. zyxwvutsrqp 17, No. 6, December zyxwvutsrqp 2004, pp. 505-508 (8 2004) Dot: I0.1OO7/~10%0-OO4-57~-3 Development and Psychometric Validation of a Domestic Violence Coping Self-Efficacy Measure (DV-CSE) Charles C. Benight,l** Alexandra S. Harding-Taylor,l Amanda M. Midboe,' and Robert L. Durham' Psychometric properties of a Domestic Violence Coping Self-Efficacy Measure were examined. lbo- hundred eighty zyxwvut three women assaulted within the past 6 months were recruited. Internal reliability of the measure was very good (a zyxwvu = .97). Principle components factor analysis indicated one primary factor accounting for 56% of the variance. The measure was positively associated with optimism, adaptivecoping, and healthy psychological functioning,and negativelyassociated with trauma-related distress, negative mood, and maladaptivecoping. zyxwv A small positive association with social desirability was found. zyxwvuts This measure may have significantclinical utility in helping survivors by indicating areas where individuals feel especially vulnerable or empowered. KEY WORDS: domestic violence; self-efficacy; resilience; coping: trauma. zyxw Domestic violence coping self-efficacy(CSE) is the perceived capability to manage posttraumatic recovery demands. During posttraumaticrecovery, CSE has consis- tently predicted posttraumatic symptoms (Benight et al., 1997, 1999, 2000, Benight & Bandura, 2004; Benight, Flores, & Tashiro. 2001; Benight & Harper, 2002; Benight, Swift, Sanger, Smith, & Zeppelin, 1999; Lerner & Kennedy, 2000, Solomon, Weisenberg, Schwarzwald, & Mikulincer, 1988) and positively correlated with opti- mism and well-being(Benight,Swift,et al., 1999;Benight et al., 2001). Domestic violence CSE provides a di- rect measure of self-schemas related to abuse recovery. Negative cognitive schemas have been associated with PTSD symptoms in domestic violence survivors (Dutton, Burghardt,Pemn, Chrestman, & Halle, 1994). Lerner and Kennedy (2000)found self-efficacyfor leaving the abuser to be a strong predictor of successful leaving, however '~epartment of ~sych~~ogy, University of ~010rad0 at colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 2To whom correspondence should be. addressed at Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Po Box 7150, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80933- 7 1 5 0 e-mail: be.night@mail.uccs.edu. their efficacy measure did not assess the demands asso- ciated with recent abuse recovery. This study attempted to fill this void by evaluating a domestic violence CSE measure anchored in assault recovery demands. This di- rect measure of cognitive self-schemaprovides targets for clinical intervention. Internal reliability, factor structure, and convergent validity were assessed. Method DVCSE Measurement Development Two focus groups (10 domestic violence advocates and 10 female survivors of a recent attack) were held s e p arately in order to develop a context-specific Domestic Violence Coping Self-Efficacy measure (DVCSE). Indi- viduals answered questions regarding the demands (phys- ical, financialfiegal, emotional, interpersonal, and spiri- tual) faced by survivorsduring the first 6 months following an attack. Initially 78 items were generated. Items deemed redundant were deleted, resulting in a 50-item question- naire. A sample of 283 women seeking assistance for domestic violence answered the items by using a scale of 505 0894-9867104/12000505/l zyxwvu 0 2004 Springer kience+Busineu Media. IK.