The survival tactics scale: introducing and validating a tool for measuring civilian responses to violence in armed conflict

Purpose This article aims to introduce a scale for measuring civilian survival responses in armed conflict. Design/methodology/approach The study was grounded in existing scholarship and informed by empirical data collected on the Taliban insurgency in Pakistan. Based on factor analysis, the scale comprises four subscales that represent distinct survival strategies: resistance, accommodation, resolution and avoidance. Findings Parallel analysis and subsequent exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a four-factor structure of the scale. The final measurement model demonstrated strong internal consistency, composite reliability and convergent validity. Research limitations/implications Although the scale is primarily designed to assess civilian survival responses in intrastate conflicts such as insurgencies and civil wars, it may also apply to other conflict settings. Originality/value The literature offers several typologies of survival strategies to explain how people cope with violence and survive during armed conflicts. The typologies are from various conflicts worldwide but are primarily based on qualitative studies. Little attention has been paid to developing a quantitative scale to measure civilians’ survival responses in armed conflicts. This paper addresses this gap by introducing a Survival Tactics Scale.