Cyberbullying among Adolescents: Psychometric Properties of the CYB-AGS Cyber-Aggressor Scale.

Sofia Buelga,Belén Martínez-Ferrer,Javier Postigo,Jessica Ortega-Barón,María-Jesús Cava

doi:10.3390/ijerph17093090

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the revised version of the Adolescent Cyber-Aggressor scale (CYB-AGS). This scale is composed of 18 items that measure direct and indirect cyberbullying. A cross-sectional study was conducted using two independent samples of adolescents. The first sample included 1318 adolescents (52.6% girls) from 12 to 16 years old (M = 13.89, SD = 1.32). The second sample included 1188 adolescents (48.5% boys) from 12 to 16 years old (M = 14.19, SD = 1.80). First, to study the psychometric properties of the CYB-AGS, exploratory factor analysis was performed on Sample 1. Results indicated a two-factor structure: direct cyber-aggression and indirect cyber-aggression. Second, to verify the structure of the CYB-AGS, we selected Sample 2 to conduct confirmatory factor analysis and test the scale’s convergent validity with theoretically-related measures. Results confirmed the reliability and validity of the two-dimensional model. Moreover, measurement invariance was established. Finally, regarding convergent validity, positive correlations were obtained between cyberbullying and aggressive behaviors in school, anger expression, negative attitudes towards school, and transgression of norms. Furthermore, negative correlations were found between cyberbullying and attitudes towards institutional authority.

Highlights

Fifth-generation mobile phone technologies (5G) are revolutionizing and transforming today’s digital era, creating an even more technological and interconnected society
Direct cyber-aggressions are behaviors and attacks directed at another person, both verbal (e.g., “I have sent someone taunting messages to bother and annoy him/her”) and social (e.g., “I have deleted or blocked someone from groups to leave him/her friendless”)
This study provides empirical evidence about the validation of the Cyber-Aggressor scale (CYB-AGS) scale, its factor structure, its internal consistency, and its convergent validity with theoretically-related variables

Summary

Introduction

Fifth-generation mobile phone technologies (5G) are revolutionizing and transforming today’s digital era, creating an even more technological and interconnected society. The smartphone is an indispensable everyday object in people’s lives, in the daily lives of young people around the world [4,5,6]. In the United States, 95% of adolescents aged 13–17 own a smartphone and, of them, 45% report that they are online constantly [8]. This trend is observed in Europe, especially in Spain, which is considered the European country with the largest number of smartphones in both the general population and among young people [9]

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Conclusion