Assessing Perpetrator Responses to Confrontation: Associations with a DARVO-SF and Posttrauma Symptoms in Two Different Populations

DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender) is a common tactic used by perpetrators of interpersonal violence to deflect blame and responsibility. Individuals' exposure to perpetrator DARVO has previously been measured using the 72-item DARVO Questionnaire (DARVO-LF;). We aimed to identify and validate a short-form version of the original 72-item DARVO Questionnaire. We also sought to expand on DARVO-related knowledge by testing DARVO's associations with trauma symptoms, confrontation type, gender, and marginalized identities. Participants were recruited from online research participation platform Prolific (N = 319) and from a large public university in the American West (N = 261). An exploratory factor analysis identified an 18-item version of the DARVO Questionnaire (DARVO-SF). The DARVO-SF had high internal reliability and was highly correlated with the DARVO-LF. In support of our predictions, analyses revealed the DARVO-SF predicted trauma symptoms after controlling for trauma history. DARVO exposure varied by confrontation type and was higher in confrontations about emotional and psychological mistreatment. Contrary to expectations, we did not find any associations between DARVO exposure and gender or marginalized identities. Overall, the current study identifies a substantially improved DARVO measure and provides novel insight into individuals' experience of this tactic.