The TAR Scale (Victimisation and Impact)
The TAR Scale is a research tool that measures the victimisation and impact of self-reported technology-facilitated abuse in relationships. The scale is the only existing validated scale that measures the impact of TAR and a recent systematic review recommended the TAR Scale as a leading instrument for analysing technology-facilitated abuse in relationships (Martínez Soto & Ibabe, 2022).
The scale consists of 30 items presented in a six-point format and requires respondents to answer “not at all”, “once,” “a few times”, “monthly”, “weekly”, or “daily/almost daily” in relation to the last 12 months. The Humiliation dimension contains 10 items, the Monitoring and Control dimension 7 items, the Sexual Coercion dimension 8 items, and the Threats dimension 5 items. Strengths of the scale stem from the rigour and exhaustive list of behaviours employed during its development, its durability across the full range of digital platforms and tools, and its measurement of both victimisation and impact.
The TAR Scale was developed in 2021 and validated among a sample of 527 Australians aged 16 to 24 years. A full description of the development and validation of the TAR Scale can be found in the publication Brown, C., & Hegarty, K. (2021). Development and validation of the TAR Scale: A measure of technology-facilitated abuse in relationships. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 3. doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100059”
Validation of the scale among an adult sample of 390 Australian women is currently pending publication. The TAR Scale is currently undergoing translation into Portuguese, Turkish, Spanish and Mandarin.
Below are the definitions, demographic questions, and victimisation and impact items that make up the scale.
The definitions within the TAR include:
Dating Relationships and Digital Devices.
Some of the demographic questions asked prior to answering the victimisation items include:
Age, gender, country of birth and the dating relationship duration.
Demographic questions asked after the victimisation & impact items include:
The definition of partner (s), postcode and whether they were born in Australia and if they are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin, country of birth, educational status, employment and government benefit status.
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Humiliation Dimension (10 items)
Signed me onto a pornography site without my permission
Started a social networking page for posting negative information about me
Threatened to distribute nude image(s) of me
Told me on a digital device to harm myself
Edited a photo or video of me in an offensive manner and sent it to me
Threatened on a digital device to physically hurt me
Changed an aspect of my online profile without my permission
Posted something negative through my account without my permission
Threatened on a digital device to physically hurt my family or friends
Shared a hurtful meme about me on a digital device
Sexual Coercion Dimension (8 items)Pressured me to send nude image(s) of myself
Pressured me on a digital device to send sexually explicit messages
Pressured me to engage in phone sex
Pressured me on a digital device to engage in sexual acts
Pressured me on a digital device to discuss sexual issues
Pressured me to engage in sexual activity via live video
Sent me unwelcome nude images
Shared a nude photo or video of me without my permission
Monitoring & Control Dimension (7 items)
Made me remove or add contact(s) on my digital device
Made me stop interacting with another person(s) on my digital device
Pressured me to share my password(s) with them
Made me disclose digital conversation(s) I’ve had with another person(s) to them
Checked to see who I was communicating with on my digital device in a way that made me feel uncomfortable
Logged onto my digital device without my permission
Monitored where I am via tracking software
Threats Dimension (5 items)Sent me threatening messages on a digital device
Threatened on a digital device to emotionally hurt me
Threatened on a digital device to damage things that are important to me
Made me feel threatened if I ignored their calls or messages
Threatened on a digital device to physically hurt themselves if I didn’t do what they wanted
Behavioural Items
Impact items:
How distressed were you by each behaviour?
Not at all distressed, Slightly distressed, Moderately distressed, Very distressed, Extremely distressedHow afraid did each behaviour make you feel?
Not at all afraid, Slightly afraid, Moderately afraid, Very afraid, Extremely afraid -
Some of the demographic questions asked prior to answering the victimisation items include:
Age, gender, country of birth and the dating relationship duration.
Demographic questions asked after the victimisation & impact items include:
The definition of partner (s), postcode and whether they were born in Australia and if they are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin, country of birth, educational status, employment and government benefit status.The following definitions are provided to participants at the beginning of the survey
Dating Relationships:
We define dating as two or more people in an emotionally and/or physically intimate relationship. The relationship may or may not be sexual.
It may be casual or serious, short-term or long-term, straight, gay, monogamous or open. Terms used to describe these kinds of relationships include: boyfriend, girlfriend, going out, hanging out, hooking up, seeing each other, friends with benefits, and unofficially dating. In this survey we will use the terms girlfriend and boyfriend to mean dating relationship.Digital Devices:
A digital device includes any type of modern-day technology used to interact with other people. Examples include (but are not limited to) mobile phones, smartphones, computers, tablets, laptops, notepads, internet, social media, GPS devices, software, apps. -
Brown, C. and K. Hegarty (2024). "Fear and distress: How can we measure the impact of technology-facilitated abuse in relationships?" Social Sciences 13(1): 71-86. doi:10.3390/socsci13010071
Brown, C., & Hegarty, K. (2021). Development and validation of the TAR Scale: A measure of technology-facilitated abuse in relationships. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 3. doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100059
Brown, C., Sanci, L. and Hegarty, K. (2021). "Technology-facilitated abuse in relationships: Victimisation patterns and impact in young people." Computers in Human Behavior. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2021.106897
Brown, C., Flood, M., and Hegarty, K. (2020). Digital dating abuse perpetration and impact: The importance of gender. Journal of Youth Studies, p1-16. doi: 10.1080/13676261.2020.1858041