Schipper, Lucas D.

I present the development and initial validation of a new measure designed to
assess the specific content of insults used by men against their intimate partners. I used
feedback from battered women, along with a review of the relevant literature, to identify
specific insults for inclusion in the Partner-Directed Insults Scale (PDIS) (Preliminary
Study). I administered the PDIS to a sample of United States participants (Study 1) and a
sample of New Zealand participants (Study 2), allowing for a cross-national investigation
of the specific insults that men use to derogate their partners. The results demonstrate the
practical need for such a scale and provide evidence for the discriminant validity of the
PDIS by documenting that men's use of insults predicts their use of controlling behaviors
and physical violence. It is this predictive utility that makes the PDIS a valuable tool for
researchers and clinicians alike.

I present the development and initial validation a new measure designed to assess
specific personal prayer content I used feedback from men and women, along with a
review of the relevant literature, to identify specific prayer content for inclusion in the
Personal Prayer Content Scale (PPCS) (Study 1) I administered the PPCS to a sample of
participants from southeast Florida and southeast Michigan allowing for a cross-national
investigation of the specific content of the thoughts that individuals privately direct
towards a god, gods, or god-like entity (Study 2) I compared men’s and women’s
responses (Study 3) and responses between Christians and non-Christians (Study 4) on
the PPCS The results provide evidence for the reliability and discriminant validity of the
PPCS by demonstrating that personal prayer content predicts aspects of religiosity and is
equally valid for men and women and Christians and non-Christians A validated PPCS
may be of theoretical, empirical, and practical value