Factor Structure and Distinctiveness of the Violent Behavior Vignette Questionnaire

The Violent Behavior Vignette Questionnaire (VBVQ) is a self-report measure of current violent behavior. It consists of a series of interpersonal conflicts to which participants respond by selecting from a range of violent and nonviolent options. Though there is initial evidence for the convergent validity of VBVQ scores, other important aspects of construct validity have not yet been tested. In the current study, we conducted a secondary analysis of a dataset of 471 men from the general community to explore the factor structure of the VBVQ and its distinctiveness from other measures of violence and aggression (i.e., Violent Behaviour Scale [VBS] and the Physical Aggression scale of the Aggression Questionnaire [PA-AQ]). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) indicated that the VBVQ vignettes fit a one-factor structure. Partial correlations indicated that the VBVQ was independently correlated with the PA-AQ (controlling for the VBS), and with the VBS (controlling for the PA-AQ). Furthermore, a second EFA indicated that the VBVQ vignettes formed a distinct factor from the VBS and PA-AQ items. These results suggest that the VBVQ measures one construct and that it provides non-redundant information about violent behavior relative to the other measures of violence and aggression.