Multidimensional bullying scale for high school students: A scale development study

The aim of the current study was to develop a valid and reliable scale for multidimensional measurement of bullying and victimization among high school students. For the validity studies, expert opinions were initially sought to ensure the content validity of the scale. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted as part of the structural validity studies. The EFA study group consisted of 529 high school students in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades in Diyarbakır. As a result of the EFA conducted separately for bullying and victimization items, the scale consists of 21 items with a single factor structure with factor loading values are 0.33 and above. The CFA study group included 575 high school students in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades in Diyarbakır. The single-factor structure obtained from the EFA was separately tested with CFA for bullying and victimization items. The fit indexes for bullying and victimization items in Confirmatory Factor Analysis were found to be within acceptable ranges. Within the scope of reliability studies, the internal consistency coefficients and test-retest reliability of bullying and victimization items were calculated. For the EFA group, the Cronbach Alpha internal consistency reliability coefficients were found to be .87 for the bullying scale and .90 for the victiminization scale. For the CFA group, the internal consistency coefficients were found to be 0.88 for the bullying scale and 0.90 for the victimization scale. Furthermore, it was determined that the bullying (r: 0.72, p<0.05) and victimization (r: 0.72, p<0.05) scales administered with a 4-week interval, had a high level of test-retest reliability. The findings obtained from the study indicate that the High School Bullying Scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool. The High School Bullying Scale can be used by high school teachers, school counselors, researchers conducting studies on bullying in high schools, and educational politician to comprehensively measure bullying behaviors among high school students.