The CTS can be ordered from The Western Psychological Services (WPS) website using a credit card [http://www.wpspublish.com/Inetpub4/index.htm] or through the customer Service

Department (Ph: 1-800-648-8857; FAX: 310-478-2061; E-mail: custsvc@wpspublish.com

A single-source handbook and current forms for the Conflict Tactics Scales

Conflict Tactics Scales

Handbook and Revised Forms

by Murray A. Straus, Ph.D., Sherry L. Hamby, Ph.D., Sue Boney-McCoy, Ph.D., David B. Sugarman, Ph.D., David Finkelhor, Ph.D., David W. Moore, Ph.D., and Desmond K. Runyan, M.D.

    The Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) have been used for decades to evaluate violence within families and intimate relationships. The widespread use of these scales has resulted in a proliferation of adapted forms and some confusion about their clinical and research application. This Handbook clarifies the situation by compiling and organizing—in a single source—the large body of information about the CTS. In addition, it presents two updated versions of the instrument that serve as standard forms.

    The first of these is the revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS 2), which brings the instrument up to date by correcting the psychometric shortcomings of the original. It is the recommended form for assessing partner violence. The second form, the Conflict Tactics Scale: Parent-Child Version (CTS PC), is the recommended form for evaluating child maltreatment and parent-to-child violence.

    The Handbook describes the evolution of the CTS 2 and CTS PC, provides examples of their use in various settings, discusses their psychometric properties, and offers practical guidance regarding administration and scoring. It also includes survey results from a number of groups for comparative purposes. Because the CTS is not a typical psychological test, the Handbook does not include broad-based standard scores or information about diagnostic interpretation.

    The CTS 2 and CTS PC can each be completed in just 10 minutes. The CTS 2 includes 78 items, half referring to the respondent’s behavior and half to the partner’s behavior. Using an 8-point scale, the respondent simply indicates how often each behavior has occurred. This produces “Self” and “Partner” scores for the following dimensions:

Negotiation	Psychological Aggression
Physical Assault	Sexual Coercion
Injury

    The test form includes space to record scores from an appropriate comparison sample selected from the Handbook.

    The CTS PC is composed of 35 items, most focusing on the respondent’s behavior with his or her child, several inquiring about the parent’s own experiences as a child. These items yield scores for the following areas:

Nonviolent Discipline	Psychological Aggression
Physical Assault	Weekly Discipline
Neglect	Sexual Abuse

    Both forms identify and quantify the level of abuse in families—specifically with regard to wife beating and child abuse. Although the scales include items that describe constructive conflict tactics and verbal aggression, their primary focus is on physically aggressive acts of intimidation and coercion.

    In addition to providing useful information, the CTS 2 and CTS PC meet the practical needs of family therapists, social workers, and other mental health professionals. First, they take only a few minutes to administer (in a self-report or interview format) and can be easily added to standard intake procedures. Second, they target specific actions and therefore do not require that respondents recognize their own behavior as violent in order to answer questions about it. Third, they can be completed by one partner or by both partners separately.

    Widely recognized as the standard survey tool for assessing domestic violence, these popular scales are now more useful than ever.

Product No.	Price	Description
W-396	$75.00	KIT: Includes Handbook; 10 CTS 2 AutoScore™ Forms; 10 CTS PC AutoScore™ Forms
W-396A	$38.50	CTS 2 AUTOSCORE™ FORM (Pkgs. of 25) Quantity price break available.
W-396B	$38.50	CTS PC AUTOSCORE™ FORM (Pkgs. of 25) Quantity price break available.
W-396C	$49.50	HANDBOOK

PERMISSION TO PRINT COPIES: If you have a research based need to alter the published version, or if you need to print the CTS for computer scoring, you must first arrange with Susan Dunn Weinberg of WPS [weinberg@wpspublish.com] for licensing and royalty payments for the number of copies you need.

RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL DISCOUNTS: "Both students and researchers (whom we group together in a "scholarly application" category) are charged the same amount for per-use license fees: Generally 20% off 2+ package price (currently $1.12 per use, after discount): we increase the discount to 40% when a project licenses 1,000+ uses at a time (currently $0.84 per use, after discount)." (A) Contact Susan Dunn Weinberg via e-mail [weinberg@wpspublish.com]. (B) The royalty per copy for permission to use copies printed by the researcher or student is the same as the cost of purchasing that number of copied printed by WPS. (C) "2+ package price" in the above quote refers to two or more packages of 25 test forms, or permission fees for 50 or more copies.

TRANSLATIONS AVAILABLE: Clink here for information CTS35.

OLD HANDBOOK: You can purchase copies of the old CTS handbook (now called the SOURCEBOOK) by sending an order with a credit card number to my secretary Doreen Cole [doreen.cole@unh.edu]. The price is $25.00 including postage in the USA. Foreign postage is $10.00 additional. Only credit cards or US Checks can be used for payment, i.e., no purchase orders.