Known-groups study finds acceptable psychometric properties for an intersectional IPV stigma scale in Botswana

A known-groups psychometric study of women in urban and peri-urban Botswana identified an 11-item, unidimensional scale for measuring perceived intersectional stigma related to intimate partner violence. The Botswana Culture-Salient Intersectional IPV Stigma Scale, or BCSI-IPVSS, showed good internal consistency and acceptable model fit in the analyzed sample. Its scores were positively associated with scores on other measures of IPV stigma, according to the study abstract published in BMC Public Health.

Researchers conducted interviews in 2025 with 217 women who reported experiencing IPV and 183 women who reported no experience of IPV, described in the abstract as non-reporters. The known-groups design was used to develop and test the new scale. Psychometric analyses assessed its structure and internal consistency, while Spearman’s rank correlations examined hypothesized relationships with established IPV stigma scales, IPV severity, psychological maltreatment, community gender norms and beliefs, survivor-blaming attitudes, mental-health symptoms and perceived social support. The abstract reports correlations as associations when they were statistically significant at p < 0.05; it does not establish causal effects.

Among women who reported experiencing IPV, higher BCSI-IPVSS endorsement was statistically significantly associated with greater abuse severity (ρ = 0.16), psychological maltreatment (ρ = 0.26), harmful community gender norms and beliefs (ρ = 0.52), and survivor-blaming attitudes (ρ = 0.41). Greater perceived stigma was also associated with more generalized anxiety (ρ = 0.23), social anxiety (ρ = 0.26), depression (ρ = 0.36), and post-traumatic stress symptoms (ρ = 0.23).

Among non-reporters, scale endorsement was associated with harmful community gender norms and beliefs (ρ = 0.45), survivor-blaming attitudes (ρ = 0.30), generalized anxiety (ρ = 0.22), and lower perceived social support (ρ = −0.25). No statistically significant associations were reported for social anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress in that group. Across the full analysis, scale scores correlated positively with other IPV stigma scales, with ρ values from 0.24 to 0.40 and p ≤ 0.001. The internal consistency coefficient was ω = 0.859, while the fit indices were RMSEA = 0.055 and TLI = 0.984. The abstract concludes that the scale has acceptable overall psychometric properties for assessing IPV stigma among both groups in Botswana. It also states that further investigation is needed to examine relationships among experienced IPV stigma, stigmatizing beliefs and poor mental health. Because the available evidence is limited to the abstract, the article does not independently assess the full study or establish how the findings apply beyond the sampled urban and peri-urban women.

Subject of Research: Psychometric evaluation of an intersectional intimate partner violence stigma scale among women in Botswana

Article Title: Psychometric analysis of an intersectional stigma scale for women who have experienced intimate partner violence in Botswana

Article References: Ho-Foster, A., Machisa, M. T., Moalusi, L. R., Yang, L. H., & Christofides, N. (2026). Psychometric analysis of an intersectional stigma scale for women who have experienced intimate partner violence in Botswana. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-29809-5

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-29809-5

Keywords: intimate partner violence, intersectional stigma, Botswana, psychometric analysis, women’s health, mental health, scale validation, gender norms, survivor blaming, Psychometric, analysis, intersectional