Agreement Between Mother and Father Reports of IPV in a Sample of Child Protection Referred Coparents

Abstract

Accurate assessment of intimate partner violence (IPV) using standardized measures can be a challenge as there is often discrepancy between partner reports, with previous research indicating very poor concordance between partners using the Conflict Tactics Scale. This study examines agreement between coparent reports of IPV using the Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI) from 282 coparent dyads referred for Fathers for Change, an IPV intervention by the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Differences in partner concordance using intraclass correlations were examined based on type of violence, marital status/cohabitation, race/ethnicity and substance misuse problems. Intraclass correlations were also calculated for eight power and control items unique to the ABI. Overall agreement between coparents was poor. However, there was greater concordance about mothers’ who have used IPV toward fathers than fathers’ use of IPV toward mothers. There was lower agreement between reports of physical than psychological IPV especially for white coparents. All types of coparent relationships showed low levels of agreement, but cohabiting coparents showed the highest levels of agreement when reporting fathers’ IPV. In cases with one parent exhibiting substance misuse, concordance between reports of IPV increased. Results are consistent with prior findings that women report higher IPV than fathers even when assessments are done in the context of a DCF IPV treatment referral.