Psychometric analysis of an intersectional stigma scale for women who have experienced intimate partner violence in Botswana

Abstract

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is pervasive in Botswana. IPV stigma may affect the mental health of women survivors. We developed and validated a new scale for intersectional stigma for women who experienced IPV in Botswana. We used a known-groups design. With interviews held in 2025 in urban and peri-urban areas with 217 women survivors and 183 women who reported no experience of IPV (non-reporters), we conducted psychometric analyses to develop and test an intersectional stigma scale; hypothesized positive convergence between scale endorsement and: commonly accepted IPV stigma scales; intensity of IPV experienced; harmful gender norms and beliefs; and symptoms of poor mental health. We tested for relationships using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (𝜌) and report them as associations if statistically significant (p < 0.05). Analysis identified the Botswana Culture-Salient Intersectional IPV stigma scale (BCSI-IPVSS), an 11-item, unidimensional scale for perceived stigma with good internal consistency (ω = 0.859) and fit (RMSEA = 0.055; TLI = 0.984) with observations. Its scale scores correlated positively with other IPV stigma scales (𝜌=0.24–0.40, p < = 0.001). Among survivors, we found statistically significant associations between BCSI-IPVSS endorsement and abuse severity (𝜌=0.16), psychological maltreatment (𝜌=0.26), harmful community gender norms and beliefs (𝜌=0.52), and survivor blaming attitudes (𝜌=0.41). Greater perceived stigma also coincided with poorer mental health: generalized anxiety (𝜌=0.23), social anxiety (𝜌=0.26), depression (𝜌=0.36) and post-traumatic stress (𝜌=0.23).Among non-reporters, BCSI-IPVSS endorsement showed statistically significant associations with harmful community gender norms and beliefs (𝜌=0.45), survivor blaming attitudes (𝜌=0.3), generalized anxiety (𝜌=0.22), and low perceived social support (𝜌=-0.25), but not with social anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress. The BCSI-IPVSS shows overall acceptable psychometric properties in the assessment of IPV stigma among both IPV survivors and non-reporters in Botswana. Future investigation is needed into the links between IPV stigma experience, holding stigmatizing beliefs and poor mental health.