Assessment of In-Person and Cyber Aggression and Victimization, Substance Use, and Delinquent Behavior During Early Adolescence

• NCJ Number: 252621
• Journal: Assessment Dated: 2018
• Author(s): Albert D. Farrell; Erin L. Thompson; Krista R. Mehari; Terri N. Sullivan; Elizabeth A. Goncy
• Date Published: March 2018
• Length: 17 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-CK-BX-0009
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Award: Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Sustainability of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program in Increasing School Safety for Urban Low-Income Middle Schools

Annotation

This study evaluated the Problem Behavior Frequency Scale-Adolescent Report (PBFS-AR), a measure designed to assess adolescents' frequency of victimization, aggression, substance use, and delinquent behavior.

Abstract

Participants were 1,263 students (50 percent female; 78 percent African American, and 18 percent Latino) from three urban middle schools in the United States. Confirmatory factor analyses of competing models of the structure of the PBFS-AR supported a model that differentiated among three forms of aggression (in-person physical, in-person relational, and cyber), two forms of victimization (in-person and cyber), substance use, and delinquent behavior. This seven-factor model fit the data well and demonstrated strong measurement invariance across groups that differed on sex and grade. Support was found for concurrent validity of the PBFS-AR based on its pattern of relations with school office discipline referrals. (publisher abstract modified)