Abstract
This study examined the psychometric properties of the MacArthur Community Violence Screening Instrument (MCVSI) in a heterogeneous and integrated sample of adults with mental illness (n = 4,480), including its factor structure, model fit, and psychometric properties as a function of patient sex, race, and primary diagnosis. Factor structure results indicate a unidimensional construct. Item-level analyses revealed that the MCVSI’s difficulty, including the easiest and most difficult items to endorse, sometimes differed across sex, race, and primary diagnosis. However, differential item functioning was minimal across these patient characteristics, with only those without a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia indicating an increased likelihood of having “hit anyone with a fist, object or beaten anyone” compared to those with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia. Overall, these findings support using the MCVSI as a measure of violence in studies of U.S. adults with mental illness. They also highlight the importance of using more methodologically rigorous approaches to measuring violence, including the ongoing study of the MCVSI across samples and settings.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
