Development of the Japanese version of the Woman Abuse Screening Tool-Short.

Abstract

This study develops a Japanese version of the Woman Abuse Screening Tool, comprising two simple questions, to examine its accuracy and validity. A cohort study involving women in the third trimester of pregnancy and one month after childbirth was conducted in an antenatal clinic in a Tokyo suburb. The Japanese versions of the Index of Spouse Abuse and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used to examine the cut-off point, accuracy, and validity of the Woman Abuse Screening Tool. Results showed that the tool demonstrated good accuracy (sensitivity 66.7-71.4%, specificity 89.7%), using an alternative cut-off point (i.e. responses of "some tension" or "some difficulty" [2 points] for one item and "a lot of tension" or "great difficulty" [1 point] for the other), and good concurrent, convergent, and predictive validity. The results indicated that the Woman Abuse Screening Tool could be useful in Japanese perinatal health settings, as an initial screening tool to detect intimate partner violence efficiently and effectively during pregnancy.