Measuring Adolescent Violent Behavior Across Groups: Assessing Measurement Invariance of the Violent Behavior Checklist–Modified

Measures of violent behavior are often assumed to function identically across different groups (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity). However, failure to verify measurement invariance can lead to biased cross-group comparisons. The current study examines the measurement invariance of the Violent Behavior Checklist–Modified across genders and race/ethnicities. Using multiple group confirmatory factor analysis, configural and metric invariance are assessed in a sample of racially/ethnically diverse middle and high school students (N = 4,128) in two rural counties. Results indicate that the Violent Behavior Checklist–Modified has partial measurement invariance across genders and race/ethnicities. Specifically, four out of six items were non-invariant across genders, while one out of six items was non-invariant across race/ethnicities. Findings suggest that the latent factor of violence may be qualitatively different across males and females. Implications are discussed.