The Psychometric Properties of the Korean Version of the Verbal Abuse Questionnaire in University Students

• Published in: Psychiatry investigation Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 190 - 196
• Main Authors: Jeong, Bumseok, Lee, Sang Won, Lee, Jong-Sun, Yoo, Jae Hyun, Kim, Ko Woon, Cho, Sooyun, Ahn, Jee-Young, Choi, Jeewook
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 01.04.2015; 대한신경정신의학회
• Subjects: Original; 정신과학; Validity; Verbal abuse questionnaire; Emotional trauma; Psychometric properties
• ISSN: 1738-3684; 1976-3026; 1976-3026
• DOI: 10.4306/pi.2015.12.2.190

The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Korean Verbal Abuse Questionnaire (K-VAQ) that consists of 15 items related with life-time verbal aggression exposure. A total of 5814 university students who agreed to take part in the study completed the K-VAQ, the Korean version of the Life Event CheckList (LEC-K) and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (K-IES-R). Internal consistency was checked by using item-total item correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed, and convergent and concurrent validity levels were examined. Finally, a cluster analysis was conducted to verify the validity of the cutoff point of the K-VAQ. The Cronbach's alpha correlation coefficient was 0.9. The K-VAQ showed a single factor structure which explained 55.34% of the total variance. The K-VAQ was significantly associated with the LEC-K (r=0.24) and K-IES-R (r=0.28), indicating good convergent validity and concurrent validity. The cluster analysis provided four clusters of trauma experiences: high, moderate, low, and minimal, with K-VAQ ranges of 43-81, 20-42, 7-19, and 0-6, respectively. In a further investigation, a K-VAQ score of 40 was found to be the appropriate cutoff point to delineate the highly verbally abused group, as used in the previous studies. A sum of 36.5% of the highly verbally abused group reported to show substantial symptoms of PTSD (K-IES-R score >22). The present findings suggest that the K-VAQ has good psychometric properties for assessing verbal aggression among the Korean population.