Citation

Han J, Xia J, He Q, Shao Y, Zhan Y, Liu G, Wang X. Singapore Med. J. 2015; 57(5): 254-261.

Affiliation

Department of Clinical Psychology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning, China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Singapore Medical Association)

DOI

10.11622/smedj.2015144

PMID

26768170

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Accurate assessment of peer victimisation (i.e. bullying) is a necessary precondition for research and intervention. Most assessment instruments use the 'list of acts' measurement strategy, which does not account for the actual physical and psychological damage inflicted by bullying. To resolve this limitation, we developed a peer victimisation scale (PVS) that includes harmful consequences for the judgment and measurement of peer victimisation.

METHODS: The PVS is a 40-item self-reported questionnaire designed to assess four aspects of peer victimisation: physical, verbal, relational, and interference and control. A sample of 1,469 students from grades 3-8 (49.9% male) was recruited to test the psychometric properties of the PVS. Another sample of 420 students from grades 3-8 was examined by a modified PVS supplemented with a semi-structured interview for scale validation to establish the cut-off points for severe bullying. Incidence, age and gender distribution of peer victimisation were also analysed.

RESULTS: The PVS demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.744-0.830) and test-retest reliability two weeks later (r = 0.706-0.802). The scores for each dimension were significantly and positively correlated with the scores from the questionnaire-interview sample (r = 0.730-0.777), and were modestly correlated with the scores for symptoms of anxiety and depression (r = 0.364-0.535).

CONCLUSION: The results were consistent with the measurement constructs, demonstrating that the PVS is a reliable and effective instrument for assessing peer victimisation in children. It may enable more reliable longitudinal studies assessing the impact of peer victimisation to be conducted.

Language: en