Psychometric development and validation of victim gaslighting questionnaire (VGQ): across female sample from Pakistan

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-12-2020-0119
• Published date: 16 December 2021
• Date: 16 December 2021
• Pages: 4-18
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Inequalities & diverse/minority groups,Sociology,Race & ethnic studies,Minorities,Multiculturalism,Racial identity,Work,economy & organizations
• Author: Mahnoor Mahmood Bhatti,Kanwar Hamza Shuja,Muhammad Aqeel,Zainab Bokhari,Syeda Nasreen Gulzar,Tabassum Fatima,Manahil Sama

Psychometric development and validation

of victim gaslighting questionnaire (VGQ):

across female sample from Pakistan

Mahnoor Mahmood Bhatti, Kanwar Hamza Shuja, Muhammad Aqeel, Zainab Bokhari,

Syeda Nasreen Gulzar, Tabassum Fatima and Manahil Sama

Abstract

Purpose –Gaslighting a form of abusive manipulation both emotional and psychological is a growing

phenomenon in recent times. However, as of yet, there is a scarcity of a valid and reliable instrument

which can measure the severity of gaslighting in victims of interpersonal relationships abuse. The

purpose of this study is the developmentof an instrument which can effectively measure gaslighting in

victimsand is psychometrically reliable andvalid.

Design/methodology/approach –Since the aim of the study was the development of a scale first a

sample of eight women who were victimsof domestic abuse was taken for the focus group. Afterwards

using purposive sampling a sampleof 20 women for the pilot study and a sample of 150 women for the

main study was taken with age range 18–40 (M = 23.38, S.D = 4.03). For the development of scale

theoretical basis alongwith a focus group was conducted to establish an item pool. Afterwards, subject

matter experts helped in establishing contend validity followed by Velicer’s minimum average partial

(MAP) method and maximum likelihoodfactor analysis (FA) was performed for the establishment of the

factorialstructure of the instrument.

Findings –Velicer’sMAP method and Maximum Likelihood FA suggestedtwo factor structures including

peer disagreementand loss of self-trust. Instrument displayed high alphareliability of

a

= 0.934, with

a

=

0.927 and

a

= 0.854,for the subscale, respectively.

Research limitations/implications –Though all necessary steps were taken to minimize the

limitations of the present study, however, some limitations do exist which needs to be addressed.

The foremost limitation of the present scale is that it is being developed with only a female sample,

however, the inclusion of a male sample in future studies can help in identifying whether men also

are victims of gaslighting from peers and other family members or not. The second limitation is of

validity though necessary validities have been established future studies should study on

establishing further validities to further refine the instrument. Additionally, the scale has only been

validated and tested on female samples future studies should be conducted on other specific

groups or samples to develop norms. Moreover, testing the scale on other cultures could also help

in establishing cross cultural validation of the instrument. Finally, though the scale assumes a

higher level of scores suggests a higher level of victimization, a proper cutoff score can help in

further identifying proper victims from the normal level of gaslighting.

Practical implications –The present instrument has its applicability in several domains the most

important being in the criminal justice system as gasli ghting comes under gaslighting and even in

the UK is considered as a criminal offense. This inst rument can help in determining the severity of

gaslighting in victims. Likewise, it can be used in clinical settings for psychologists to identify

possible cases of gaslighting victims which can enable the m to provide specific help and treatment

for them. Moreover, researchers can also benefit from the instrument as it c an enable them to

explore gaslighting with other possible variables which can help them explore the concept of

gaslighting evenfurther.

Originality/value –This paper is a novel study and hasbeen completed with the purpose of evaluating

the effectsof gaslighting in victims of interpersonalrelationships abuse as the earlier measuresare either

Mahnoor Mahmood Bhatti

is based at the Department

of Psychology, Foundation

University, Islamabad,

Pakistan. Kanwar Hamza

Shuja is based at the

Capital University of

Science and Technology,

Islamabad, Pakistan and

Quaid-i-Azam University,

Islamabad, Pakistan.

Muhammad Aqeel, Zainab

Bokhari, Syeda Nasreen

Gulzar, Tabassum Fatima

and Manahil Sama are all

based at the Department of

Psychology, Foundation

University, Islamabad,

Pakistan.

Received 20 December 2020

Revised 15 February 2021

Accepted 21 February 2021

PAGE 4 jINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN HEALTHCARE jVOL. 16 NO. 1 2023, pp. 4-18, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2056-4902 DOI 10.1108/IJHRH-12-2020-0119