Development and Validation of the Intimate Partner Violence Workplace Disruptions Assessment (IPV-WDA)

TL;DR

This study develops a tool to measure how abusers disrupt the workplace of intimate partner violence survivors, focusing on nursing professionals and technology-related disruptions.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new assessment tool for abuser-initiated workplace disruptions, including technology-based tactics in the nursing profession.

Findings

A two-factor structure was identified, with one factor covering general workplace disruptions and the other focusing on cellphone-related harassment.

The general disruptions factor explained 73% of the variance, while the cellphone harassment factor explained 9%.

The tool can help healthcare employers and policymakers address economic abuse in the workplace.

Abstract

A vast majority of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) experience economic abuse, including but not limited to, employment sabotage. The purpose of this study is to further understand IPV by testing a technology-inclusive abuser-initiated workplace disruption measurement in an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) so that future researchers can better examine and address economic abuse. Using a sample of survivors (N = 312) employed in the nursing profession in the United States, who may be uniquely impacted by technology, we used complete data to examine experiences of abuser-initiated workplace disruptions, including those that utilized cellphones (e.g., excessive texting, harassment of coworkers, preventing educational advancement). The results revealed a two-factor structure: one containing a variety of direct and indirect workplace disruptions relevant to the nursing profession (73% of variance) and a second containing only cell-phone related harassment (9% of variance). Implications for healthcare employers seeking to protect employees from IPV, as well as policymakers, are included.