The Assessment of Spouse Abuse: Two Quantifiable Dimensions

Abstract

This paper presents a new short-form scale called the Index of Spouse Abuse or ISA that was designed for use in clinical settings to monitor and evaluate progress in treatment. The ISA can be used on a regular or periodic basis with a single client in order to evaluate change in the degree or severity of both physical and nonphysical abuse as perceived by female respondents. The paper presents detailed findings concerning the reliability and validity of the ISA, along with details concerning the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the scale.