Psychometric Analysis of Cyber-Victimization Scale and its Relationship with Psychosocial Variables for girl students

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate the psychometric adequacy of the Cyber-Victimization Scale among 326 girl students of Tehran that were selected with the use of virtual snowball sampling. In this correlational study, they completed the Cyber-Victimization Scale (Buelga et al., 2019), Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale (Purcell, 2007), and Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale (Joseph & Stockton, 2018). The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis methods and internal consistency were used to compute the CYBVICS's factorial validity and reliability, respectively. To examine the construct validity of the CYBVICS, correlations between different dimensions of CYBVICS with Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale and Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale were computed. The results of principal component analysis (PC) and varimax rotation replicated 2-factor structures: direct cyber-victimization and indirect cyber-victimization in the Iranian sample. The goodness of fit indices of confirmatory factor analysis with the use of AMOS confirmed the 2 extracted factors. Correlational analyses between CYBVICS's factors with Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale's factors provided initial evidence for the CYBVICS convergent validity & correlational analyses between CYBVICS's factors with Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale's factors provided initial evidence for the CYBVICS discriminant validity. Internal consistency for the CYBVICS's factors was desirable (a=0.93). In sum, these findings provide evidence for the validity and reliability of the CYBVICS as an instrument to assess the Cyber-Victimization among Iranian girl students. Keywords Cyber-Victimization Scale (CYBVICS), Psychometric Properties, Girl Students Introduction Cyberspace due to easy and fast access to instant messaging services and social networks, not only can be used for educational purposes, positive communication with others, and entertainment among teenagers, but it can also be easily used to bully others. cyberbullying is defined as intentional, aggressive, and repetitive behavior in which an individual or group of individuals uses electronic devices -primarily the internet and smartphones- to bully a person who is unable to defend himself or herself. The increase and spread of cyberbullying among adolescents can be due to several factors such as increasing access to and widespread use of smartphones. Continuous advances in technology have led to the emergence of new methods and the transformation of coercion in cyberspace. In one classification, victimization in cyberspace includes direct and indirect victimization; Direct victimization means verbal coercion such as sending offensive messages in forums or groups and social coercion such as social exclusion from online groups. Indirect victimization includes behaviors that occur through methods such as misrepresenting the victim, forgery and identity theft and hacking a personal account, or manipulating photos, videos, and rumors about the victim. Negative consequences of cyberbullying undermine adolescent freedom of action in the use and search of valuable online resources and lead to severe functional and psychosocial consequences such as academic and behavioral problems, depressive symptoms, and increased loneliness due to lack of parental awareness. Accordingly, to take timely intervention in resolving this social problem and prevent its negative consequences, it is necessary to evaluate and identify it using up-to-date and valid tools. Method: This is a correlational research based on the covariance matrix. The statistical population includes all female students of first and second high school in Tehran, whereby 326 of whom were selected using the virtual snowball sampling method. Students responded to the scales victimization in cyberspace (Buelga et al., 2019), Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale (Purcell, 2007), and Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale (Joseph & Stockton, 2018). To determine the factor validity of CYBVICS the statistical methods of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were used to examine its internal consistency. Also, to examine the construct validity of the CYBVICS, correlations between different dimensions of CYBVICS with Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale and Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale were reported. Results: The results of principal component analysis (PC) using varimax rotation empirically supported direct and indirect cyber victimization in the sample which explains %77.31 of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis based on AMOS software confirmed the existence of two factors and the validity of the victimization in cyberspace. The similarity of the factor structure of the Cyber-Victimization Scale with its original version shows that the interpretive power of its underlying theoretical logic is transcendental. The positive correlation of CYBVICS's factors with dimensions of the Peer Victimization Scale's supported the convergent validity of CYBVICS, indicating that the main motivations for both types of bullying may be the same and that the bully, do coercion regardless of the context, both in real life and in cyberspace. Cyberbullying and victimization are to a large extent part of the general pattern of bullying and victimization in the traditional sense that the use of electronic media is only one form of manifestation. Also, both types of victimization may be ascribed while socializing, especially from the parents, or be rooted in the characteristics of the victim. Significant but weak correlation analyses between CYBVICS's factors with Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale, while confirming the relationship between the family atmosphere and personal and social resources to face peer bullying, confirmed the divergent validity of CYBVICS. The negative atmosphere of the family, by reducing the sources of personal and social confrontation of adolescents, makes them easier targets for bullying and violence. The free pattern of family relationships with parents and the adolescent's sense of value and respect in the family is negatively related to cyber victimization and plays a protective role in this regard. The relationship between patterns of parent-adolescent relations and victimization in cyberspace suggests that in situations where the adolescent is exposed to cyberbullying, the family can play an important role in helping him or her get out of the situation. When the family has no source of protection or help, and the parent-child relationship is threatened, humiliated, and insulted, children experience more psychological and behavioral problems and consequently, more harm from being victimized by peers and so on. Finally, in this study, the numerical value of the internal consistency coefficient for measuring CYBVICS (a=0.93) showed that this scale has the necessary reliability. Conclusion The findings of the present study show that the Persian version of the Cyber-Victimization Scale as a multidimensional self-report tool in the field of cyberspace studies and psychological well-being and social adjustment, in terms of psychometrics, to measure the dimensions of cyber victimization is a valid and reliable enough and suggests its use to prevent and intervene in the problem of cyber victimization in the adolescent community and also to identify the cyber victims in school. References Aboujaoude, E., Savage, M., Starcevic, V., & Salame, W. (2015). Cyberbullying: Review of an old problem gone viral. Journal of Adolescent Health, 57(1), 10–18. Alonso, C., & Romero, E. (2017). Aggressors and victims in bullying and cyberbullying: a study of personality profiles using the Five-Factor Model. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 20, E76. Álvarez-García, D., Pérez, J. C. N., González, A. D., & Pérez, C. R. (2015). 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Keywords

• cyber-victimization scale (cybvics)
• psychometric properties
• girl students