The abuse disability questionnaire - A new scale for assessing the consequences of partner abuse

The Abuse Disability Questionnaire (ADQ) was administered to women who used domestic violence shelters services and to a community sample of women who were members of the Chamber of Commerce. Results from these administration s along with other clinical information available from a subset of shelter women indicated that the ADQ was a reliable and valid way by which to measu re the negative consequences of partner abuse. Factor analysis indicated th at the ADQ contained eight factors, suggesting that impairment from partner abuse is multidimensional in its effects. Possible clinical applications a nd further research with the ADQ ore discussed.