Measuring Intimate Partner Violence in Sexual and Gender Minority Populations: A COSMIN Psychometric Review

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public and mental health concern, yet much of its research and measurement have been developed through a cisgender, heterosexual lens. Sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations experience IPV at rates equal to or higher than their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts and experience unique forms of abuse, including identity-based and transphobia-driven violence. However, the lack of IPV measures validated for SGM populations raises concerns about the accuracy and inclusivity of existing tools, contributing to inconsistent prevalence estimates. This study presents a two-tiered review of self-report IPV measures for SGM populations. Tier 1 evaluated psychometric properties of scales using COnsensus-based Standards for selecting health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN), while Tier 2 examined the broader application of IPV measures in empirical research. Eligible studies were original, English-language research measuring IPV in SGM populations, scale development or validation (Tier 1) or reported a reliability statistic (Tier 2). A systematic search identified 9 scale development/validation studies and 72 studies using IPV scales. Notably, SGM-specific measures remain underutilized, with most studies continuing to rely on heterocentric measures. Structural validity and internal consistency were adequate across scales, but evidence for content validity, cross-cultural validity, reliability, and hypothesis-testing was often limited or indeterminate, with no measure achieving full COSMIN recommendations. While several promising SGM-specific IPV tools exist, further refinement, validation, and development of a set of consensus-driven gold standard measures are needed to support accurate assessment, prevalence estimates, and effective interventions for IPV in SGM populations.