Development of an index to evaluate children's risk for being instrumentalized in intimate partner violence against women contexts

ABSTRACT Background/Objective: The risk of children being instrumentalized in contexts of gender violence poses a social and health problem that impacts children's future development. The main purpose of this research is to ascertain which risk indicators should be addressed by security force members when facing an emergency call regarding intimate partner violence in which children are present. This tool could be helpful for evaluating and preventing the risk of future aggression as a means to hurt mothers. Method and Results: In the course of three studies, a set of proposed risk indicators was developed. In Study 1, five interviews and two group discussions with experts working in gender violence cases (n = 18) provided us with information to develop an initial version of a measurement tool, the Index of Children's Risk of being Instrumentalized (ICRI), for gender violence cases. In Study 2, cognitive debriefing was carried out by professionals (n = 26) to evaluate the suitability of the items. This approach allowed us to obtain valid, content-based evidence. Finally, Study 3 included a pretest study in which security force members (n = 44) evaluate the appropriateness of the ICRI and, if needed, to make any necessary adjustments of the index. The results show that the indicators obtained in this initial approximation could help security forces when reporting cases of gender violence with children at the scene. Conclusions: Further attention to evaluating the risk of children living in intimate partner violence contexts is needed.