Assessment of In-Person and Cyber Aggression and Victimization, Substance Use, and Delinquent Behavior During Early Adolescence. (September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Farrell, Albert D.; Thompson, Erin L.; Mehari, Krista R.; Sullivan, Terri N.; Goncy, Elizabeth A.
• Is Part Of: Assessment. Volume 27:Number 6(2020)
• Page Start: 1213
• Page End: 1229
• Publication Date: 2020-09
• Subjects: aggression -- victimization -- cyber aggression and victimization -- problem behaviors -- school office referrals -- adolescence -- measurement invariance; Psychological tests -- Periodicals; Psychodiagnostics -- Periodicals; Personality tests -- Periodicals; 150.287
• DOI: 10.1177/1073191118792089
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1073-1911

Abstract

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. Participants were 1, 263 students (50% female; 78% African American, 18% 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.