Psychometric Properties of the Impact of Event Scale–6 in Sexual Violence Services

Purpose: To evaluate selected psychometric properties of the Impact of Event Scale–6 (IES-6) for routine intake screening and potential practice-based monitoring in community-based sexual violence services and to examine gender comparability. Methods: Secondary analyses used de-identified intake data from a Southwestern Ontario trauma-service network collected over 12 years. Adult survivors ( N = 893; 451 men, 442 women) completed IES-R items from which the IES-6 was derived, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales–21. Analyses included confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), ordinal CFA sensitivity analysis, internal consistency, convergent validity, known-groups validity, and gender invariance. Results: A one-factor model with two theoretically interpretable residual covariances showed acceptable fit, good internal consistency, and convergent validity. Ordinal CFA produced broadly similar conclusions. Metric invariance held, but scalar invariance did not. Discussion: Findings provide preliminary support for the IES-6 as a brief intake screening measure; gender mean differences should be interpreted descriptively.