Psychometric properties of the Thomas Bullying and Cyberbullying Scale (BCS-A) in Argentinean adolescents

Abstract

Bullying is an important risk factor for the mental health of adolescents. With the development of new technologies, a type of harassment called cyberbullying emerged that presents different qualitative characteristics. However, there are few instruments to measure both behaviors together. The objective of this research was to evaluate for the first time the psychometric properties of the BCS-A scale by Thomas et al. that measures bullying and cyberbullying multi-dimensionally in a sample of Spanish-speaking adolescents. For this purpose, an intentional sample of 842 students who attended secondary school in Argentina (46% male, 53% female and 1% non-binary) was constituted. Participants answered the questionnaire, the Goodman Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and demographic questions. Factor analyzes -exploratory and confirmatory- indicated four dimensions: physical, verbal, relational and virtual victimization, as well as to carry out bullying. Also the internal consistencies were adequate. Concurrent validity was found with respect to Goodman Questionnaire. Thus, the BCS-A scale by Thomas et al. It would be a useful tool to evaluate both issues and try to examine specific psychosocial correlates of both bullying.