Abstract

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive issue worldwide (United Nations, 2024). Various forms of IPV have been investigated (Henry et al., 2021), including the recently explored concept of social abuse. Social abuse refers to the intentional act of violating an individual’s rights and needs for social belonging within an intimate relationship (Park & Jeon, 2022). These actions can lead to a myriad of negative effects on the victims’ mental health and social relationships, as well as result in the victims’ social isolation (Stoff et al., 2021). Recently, we have developed an English version of the Social Abuse Scale (SAS), which comprised 30 items unified under a single-factor structure, which accounted for approximately 69.77% of the total variance (Park et al., 2024). The instrument was tested on samples residing in the United States and showed excellent internal consistency, as evidenced by Cronbach’s alpha and a McDonald’s omega value of .986. The tool now needs to be validated with more diverse and larger samples by translating it into various languages.

Purpose: This study aims to adapt and validate the SAS in South Korea and Turkey and to examine cross-cultural differences and similarities in the manifestations of social abuse.

Methods and Analysis: The tool will be adapted for two cultural contexts through four phases: 1) translation, 2) validity testing through expert review, 3) cognitive interviews with participants from each cultural setting, and 4) survey administration. Additionally, the study will explore divergent validity by measuring social support and convergent validity by assessing indicators such as conflict tactics, loneliness, and social isolation, comparing these results with the SAS outcomes. Comparative statistical analysis across the countries will identify variations in the tool’s performance.

Results: We hypothesize that while the core dimensions of social abuse will remain consistent across cultures, cultural norms, and values may influence specific manifestations of social abuse in intimate relationships.

Conclusion: This research will provide valuable insights into the use of social abuse measures in Turkish and South Korean settings. The findings will be important for nursing by enhancing understanding of social abuse in diverse cultural contexts. It will also help improve nursing practice by providing culturally sensitive assessment tools, contributing to more effective policy-making on IPV and social abuse.

Notes

References: Henry, N., Vasil, S., Flynn, A., Kellard, K., & Mortreux, C. (2021). Technology-facilitated domestic violence against immigrant and refugee women: A qualitative study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(13–14), NP12634–NP12660. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211001465

Park, S., & Jeon, J. (2022). Social abuse in intimate partner relationships: A hybrid concept analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 23(5), 1599–1609. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211013140

Park, S., Woo, H., & Tekkas-Kerman, K. (2024). Development and initial validation of a scale to measure social abuse in intimate partner relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, under review.

Stoff, L. W., Bates, L. M., Schuler, S. R., Renner, L. M., Erickson, D. J., & Osypuk, T. L. (2021). Intimate partner violence and social connection among married women in rural Bangladesh. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 75(12), 1202–1207. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-214843

United Nations. (2024). SDG goals: Goal 5. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2017/Goal-05/

Description

Abstract Summary: The Social Abuse Scale (SAS) assesses victimization from social abuse within intimate partner relationships. This project focuses on validating the SAS in multicultural contexts, specifically in South Korea and Turkey. The project will contribute to providing researchers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers with a robust tool to effectively identify and support victims of social abuse, thereby enhancing intervention and prevention strategies in these diverse environments.

Author Details

Kader Tekkas-Kerman, PhD, RN & Sihyun Park, PhD, RN

Sigma Membership

Gamma Tau at-Large

Type

Poster

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Other

Research Approach

Other

Keywords:

Instrument and Tool development, Public and Community Health, Sustainable Development Goals, Intimate Partner Violence, IPV, South Korea, Turkey

Conference Name

36th International Nursing Research Congress

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Seattle, Washington, USA

Conference Year

2025

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

Review Type

Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Click on the above link to access the poster.

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Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of Social Abuse Scale in South Korea and Turkey

Seattle, Washington, USA

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive issue worldwide (United Nations, 2024). Various forms of IPV have been investigated (Henry et al., 2021), including the recently explored concept of social abuse. Social abuse refers to the intentional act of violating an individual’s rights and needs for social belonging within an intimate relationship (Park & Jeon, 2022). These actions can lead to a myriad of negative effects on the victims’ mental health and social relationships, as well as result in the victims’ social isolation (Stoff et al., 2021). Recently, we have developed an English version of the Social Abuse Scale (SAS), which comprised 30 items unified under a single-factor structure, which accounted for approximately 69.77% of the total variance (Park et al., 2024). The instrument was tested on samples residing in the United States and showed excellent internal consistency, as evidenced by Cronbach’s alpha and a McDonald’s omega value of .986. The tool now needs to be validated with more diverse and larger samples by translating it into various languages.

Purpose: This study aims to adapt and validate the SAS in South Korea and Turkey and to examine cross-cultural differences and similarities in the manifestations of social abuse.

Methods and Analysis: The tool will be adapted for two cultural contexts through four phases: 1) translation, 2) validity testing through expert review, 3) cognitive interviews with participants from each cultural setting, and 4) survey administration. Additionally, the study will explore divergent validity by measuring social support and convergent validity by assessing indicators such as conflict tactics, loneliness, and social isolation, comparing these results with the SAS outcomes. Comparative statistical analysis across the countries will identify variations in the tool’s performance.

Results: We hypothesize that while the core dimensions of social abuse will remain consistent across cultures, cultural norms, and values may influence specific manifestations of social abuse in intimate relationships.

Conclusion: This research will provide valuable insights into the use of social abuse measures in Turkish and South Korean settings. The findings will be important for nursing by enhancing understanding of social abuse in diverse cultural contexts. It will also help improve nursing practice by providing culturally sensitive assessment tools, contributing to more effective policy-making on IPV and social abuse.