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The Domestic Violence Myth Acceptance Scale: Development And Psychometric Testing Of A New Instrument, John Peters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since 1980, researchers and practitioners have had access to valid and reliable measures of myths about rape (Burt, 1980) and child sexual abuse (Collings, 1997). Despite the utility of such measures in research and program evaluation, no such measure of domestic violence myths currently exists. The present study was undertaken to fill this gap. In this study, domestic violence myths were defined as stereotypical attitudes and beliefs that are generally false but are widely and persistently held, and which serve to minimize, deny, or justify physical aggression against intimate partners. Based on defensive attribution and radical feminist theories, these myths …