Global measurement of intimate partner violence to monitor Sustainable Development Goal 5

Abstract Background One third of women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and potential sequelae. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5.2—to eliminate violence against women, including IPV—compels states to monitor such violence. We conducted the first global measurement-invariance assessment of standardised item sets for IPV. Methods Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from 36 Lower−/Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) administering 18 IPV items during 2012–2018 were included. Analyses were performed separately for two items sets: lifetime physical IPV (seven items) and controlling behaviours (five items). We performed country-specific exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA/CFA). Datasets meeting benchmarks for acceptable item loadings and model-fit statistics were included in multiple-group CFA (MGCFA) to test for exact measurement invariance. Based on findings, alignment optimization (AO) was performed to assess approximate measurement invariance (