The Intimate Justice Scale: an instrument to screen for psychological abuse and physical violence in clinical practice.
This article describes development of the Intimate Justice Scale (IJS) and reports on a clinical study of the validity, reliability, and clinical usefulness of the instrument. Rather than measuring specific acts of abuse, the IJS measures ethical dynamics of couple relationships, which are evident in patterns of action and attitude expressed over the course of the relationship. Ethical dynamics appear to correlate with partner abuse. The study suggests that the IJS may reliably identify victims of abuse and may discriminate between minor and severe levels of abuse. The IJS can be completed and scored in less than 10 min and may be useful for screening in mental health, medical, and social service agencies. Clinical guidelines and a case example are presented.
Jory
Brian
B
Berry College, Mount Berry, Georgia, USA. bjory@berry.edu
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D013997:Time Factors