Psychometric properties of the Persian version of Bullying and Cyberbullying Scale for Adolescents (BCS-A) in Iranian students

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective Cyberbullying, which is defined as an intentional, aggressive, and repetitive behaviour where a person or group uses electronic devices (primarily the Internet and smartphones), is a new concept specifically for the Iranian educational system. We examined the Bullying and Cyberbullying Scale for Adolescents’ (BCS-A) psychometric properties in Persian-speaking Iranian adolescents. Design A sample of 301 students studying in Arak city, Iran (female = 154) completed bullying and cyberbullying scale (BCS-A), School Belonging scale (SBS), and Youth Internalizing and Externalizing Screener (YIBS and YEBS). Result Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the BCS-A measurement model, which structured each of the 13 items as indicators of the four victimization factors (i.e., physical, verbal, relational, and cyber), provided adequate-data model fit. These analyses also revealed that both victimization and cyber-victimization had adverse predictive effects on school belonging and positive predictive effects on internalizing and externalizing problems. Furthermore, bullying significantly predicted school belonging and mental health problems. Conclusion This study is the first to examine the psychometric properties of BCS-A in the Iranian sample. This study is an essential step in validating the scale for Iranian adolescents. This study has some implications for educators, researchers and policymakers.