Information was collected on socio-

Information was collected on socio-economic details,
health using the Short Form 8 (SF-8), social support using
the Oslo-3 Social Support Scale, type and frequency of mistreatment,
perpetrator characteristics and the impact of the
mistreatment. The SF-8 is an eight-item instrument that
measures two overall physical and mental health constructs.
The aggregated physical and mental health scores were
transformed to achieve norm based scores (mean: 50, SD:
10) based on the general US population [18]. Scores of less
than 50 were considered to indicate below average physical
or mental health. The usability, reliability and validity of the
SF-8 especially in vulnerable populations are reported elsewhere
[19, 20]. The Oslo-3 Social Support Scale is a
three-item instrument using 4 or 5 point Likert response
scales and indicates three levels of support: poor support
(score 3–8), intermediate support (9–11) and strong
support (12–14). The instrument’s Cronbach alpha score is
this study was 0.61, similar to that (0.6) in the original research
[21].