Validation of the Violent Ideations Scale (VIS) in Spain

• Published date: 01 November 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X221148126
• Author: Carlota Urruela,Ana M. Greco,Diego A. Díaz-Faes,Izabela Zych,Noemí Pereda,Manuel Eisner,Denis Ribeaud,Aja L. Murray
• Date: 01 November 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X221148126

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2023, Vol. 67(15) 1474 –1492

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X221148126

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Article

Validation of the Violent

Ideations Scale (VIS) in Spain

Carlota Urruela1, Ana M. Greco2,

Diego A. Díaz-Faes3, Izabela Zych4,

Noemí Pereda3, Manuel Eisner5,6,

Denis Ribeaud6, and Aja L. Murray7

Abstract

Research has shown that violent ideations (VIs) may play a key role in aggression and

violence. However, there is no tool to measure this construct adapted to the Spanish

language so far. The current study aims to translate and evaluate the psychometric

properties of the Violent Ideations Scale (VIS) in European Spanish. This study counts

with a convenience sample of 752 native Spaniards or Spanish speakers residing in

Spain, between 18- and 75-years old, 53% identified as female and 47% identified as

male. The dimensionality, gender measurement invariance, concurrent validity and

reliability of scores were assessed. Initial evidence of external validity was collected.

Results confirmed the unidimensionality of the instrument. Measurement invariance

held across females and males and reliabilities were high. VIS-ES scores correlated

with aggressive behavior during the previous month. The VIS-ES seems suitable for

use in non-clinical Spanish speaking samples.

Keywords

violent ideation, aggression, violence, reliability, psychometric properties

1Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

2Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

3Universitat de Barcelona, Spain

4Universidad de Córdoba, Spain

5University of Cambridge, UK

6University of Zurich, Switzerland

7University of Edinburgh, UK

Corresponding Author:

Carlota Urruela, Research Centre for Forensic and Security Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,

c/Francisco Tomás y Valiente, 11, Madrid 28049, Spain.

Email: carlota.urruela@icfs.es

1148126IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X221148126International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyUrruela et al.

research-article2023

Urruela et al. 1475

Introduction

Violent cognitions are conceptualized as a risk factor for the development of violent

behavior, as well as a leading element in the understanding of aggression and its pre-

vention. The thoughts or fantasies of inflicting physical or psychological harm to

someone have been defined as violent ideations (VIs, Murray et al., 2018). These

thoughts and mental images with violent content may be more frequent than one might

expect, both in clinical (Brucato et al., 2019) and non-clinical samples (Patel et al.,

2013). For example, Brucato et al. (2019) found in their study with people at high-risk

for psychosis, that 32.5% reported VIs. In normative samples, Murray et al. (2018)

have reported a prevalence of VIs ranging from 0.5% (homicidal, rape, and sexual

assault ideations) to 37% (violent revenge).

It is not yet clear whether VIs are a cause itself of aggressive behavior or rather a

reaction to or a reflection of shared causes with aggressive behavior (Murray et al.,

2016). A review of the literature has revealed that relatively little research has been

conducted in the area of violent fantasies and cognitions, particularly on non-sexual

violent thoughts and fantasies (Gilbert & Daffern, 2017). Hence, being able to reliably

measure VIs may be useful in a broad number of fields. From a clinical perspective,

VIs have been recently proposed as a good predictor of conversion to threshold psy-

chosis and violent behaviors (Brucato et al., 2018). VIs have also been linked with

serious mental disorders (Brucato et al., 2018; Roché et al., 2021), and may be consid-

ered to some extent a general indicator of mental health difficulties (Murray et al.,

2017). Further, addressing VIs as the cognitive component of aggressive behavior

within a therapeutic intervention might also be beneficial (Nagtegaal et al., 2006), and

some evidence regarding its effectiveness has already been gathered (Akerman, 2008).

From a forensic point of view, VIs can be conceived as an indicator of potential risk

for interpersonal violent behaviors (Murray et al., 2018), especially in psychiatric

patients (Grisso et al., 2000).

In research, VIs perform an essential role in different perspectives and theories

entailing the explanation of aggression and violence such as evolutionary theories of

violence (Eisner, 2009) or social cognitive theories of aggression (Anderson &

Huesmann, 2003), and metatheories like the general aggression model (GAM,

Anderson & Bushman, 2002) or the I3 model (Finkel, 2014).

Evolutionary theories of violence stress the flexibility and (mal)adaptability of

human behavior, the evolution process of human psychological mechanisms, as well

as how the evolved human psychology makes it more likely that we learn certain

beliefs and practices than others (Durrant & Ward, 2011). For instance, regarding

homicide, evolutionary explanations conceive the thoughts of killing someone as

functional to make credible threats and explore the possibility of homicide. Within this

framework, the decision of any course of action would rely on assessing the costs and

benefits of translating these ideations into actual behavior (Duntley & Buss, 2011).

Social cognitive theories explain some of the constructs and processes leading to

aggression. These theories posit that aggression is learned and modeled through expo-

sition and direct experience since the development of social behavior is contingent on