Bullying Measurement Study

Abstract

Although some states have mandated the use of bullying prevention programs in schools, there is very little research available on the psychometric properties of the instruments that evaluate these programs. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of two instruments in third through fifth grade students and their teachers. The psychometric properties were examined through internal consistency reliability, concurrent validity, discriminant, and convergent validity.For the combined sample and each individual grade the psychometric properties of the BVS were stronger than the OBVQ. Children report higher levels of victimization than admitted bullying. When considering an instrument to measure a bullying intervention, the BVS will provide a more accurate portrayal of the bullying and victimization problems in 3^rd graders. This will enable researchers or school personnel to gain accurate insight into the change in bullying and victimization behaviors over time.