Cyberbullying Victimization Scale (CVS)

Abstract

The Cyberbullying Victimization Scale (CVS; Chun, Kim, & Lee, 2023) is a self-reported, multidimensional instrument designed to assess victimization due to cyberbullying within the Korean cultural context. The scale’s development involved an initial pool of 26 items, generated through a literature review and concept mapping. These items were initially developed in Korean, translated into English by social work experts, and then back-translated into Korean to ensure content accuracy. Following qualitative expert review and a Delphi survey, the instrument was reduced to 17 items. This 17-item version was then psychometrically evaluated using a sample of adolescents from Seoul, South Korea. The final 14-item CVS demonstrated acceptable factor structure, reliability, and validity. The authors noted limitations, including sampling issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated performing both exploratory and confirmatory analyses on the same sample, a practice typically not recommended. Future research is encouraged to confirm these findings by utilizing different samples for these analyses, as suggested by Lorenzo-Seva (2021), to strengthen the scale’s psychometric properties.

Keywords

Adolescents; Cyberbullying; Factorial Validity; Intrusiveness; Threat and Extortion; Verbal and Sexual Attack; Victimization

Authors

Chun, JongSerl; Kim, Jinyung; Lee, Serim

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Purpose

This instrument provides users with a self-reported measure for the assessment of victimization due to cyberbullying.

Validity

Content Validity: Items that scored below the minimum content validity ratio (CVR) were revised or deleted. The minimum CVRs were 0.49 and 0.56 in the first and second rounds, respectively, due to differing numbers of panelists in each round (Lawshe, 1975).
Factorial Validity: Factorial validity was established based on the findings of factor analysis.
Criterion-Based Validity: The cyberbullying victimization scale was significantly correlated with external criteria, including gaming addiction, smartphone addiction, self-efficacy, stress, depression, and self-esteem.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: The overall reliability of the cyberbullying victimization scale (𝛼 = 0.80) and its respective subscales demonstrated moderate and acceptable ranges of reliability. Specifically, the Cronbach’s alpha values for “verbal and sexual attack,” “intrusiveness and social exclusion,” and “threat and extortion” were 0.79, 0.68, and 0.65, respectively.

Factor Analysis

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA): Out of the initial 17 items, 3 items scored below 0.3 and were either excluded or combined. This process resulted in a three-factor structure spread across 14 items. The eigenvalues for Factors 1, 2, and 3 were 2.80, 2.43, and 2.19, respectively. These three subscales cumulatively explained 52.96% of the model variance.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA): The model fit indices for the adjusted model were 𝜒² = 175.07 (df = 73), 𝜒² (df) = 2.40, NFI = 0.84, TLI = 0.87, CFI = 0.90, and RMSEA = 0.07. These values indicate a good model fit (MacCallum et al., 1996, p. 134; Kim, 2017; Kline, 2010).

Instrument

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire.
Format: Respondents rate each item on a four-point Likert scale, with options being: 1 (not at all), 2 (sometimes), 3 (oftentimes), and 4 (always).
Language Available: English; Korean.
Population Group: Human; Male; Female adolescents.
Age Group: Adolescence (13-17 years).
Population Details: Respondents were Korean Adolescents located in South Korea.
Test Methodology: Test Validity; Construct Validity; Content Validity; Criterion Validity; Test Reliability; Internal Consistency; Factor Analysis; Confirmatory Factor Analysis; Exploratory Factor Analysis.
Number of Items: This measure is comprised of 14 items.
Subscales: Verbal and sexual attack; Intrusiveness; Threat and extortion.

Keywords

Adolescents; Cyberbullying; Factorial Validity; Intrusiveness; Threat and Extortion; Verbal and Sexual Attack; Victimization

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Authors

Chun, JongSerl

• Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8288-7140

• Affiliation: Ewha Womans University, Department of Social Welfare

• Email Address: [email protected]

• Correspondence Address: 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 03760

Kim, Jinyung

• Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1992-0424

• Affiliation: Ewha Womans University, Department of Social Welfare

• Email Address: No data is Available

Lee, Serim

• Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3051-6625

• Affiliation: Ewha Womans University, Department of Social Welfare

• Email Address: No data is Available

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: May use for Research/Teaching
Commercial: No
Fee: No
Test Year: 2023

References

Chun, J., Kim, J., & Lee, S. (2023). Development of a cyberbullying victimization scale for adolescents in South Korea. Children and Youth Services Review, 144, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106744

Items of the Cyberbullying Victimization Scale (CVS)

Participants are asked to respond to the following statements based on a 4-point scale:
1 = Never
2 = Sometimes
3 = Often
4 = Everyday

Verbal and sexual attack

• The manipulated sexual rumors, sexual parody, photos, and videos of me were exposed online

• I have constantly received unwanted sexual contents, pornographic sites, photos, and videos from someone online

• I have seen online posts attacking me publicly

• I have constantly received online replies attacking me publicly

• Someone has impersonated me, and written posts that insult me or defame others

Intrusiveness

• My photos and videos have been posted online without my permission

• I have been forced to play online games, and/or constantly excluded from online games

• I have been repetitively invited to and/or kicked out from the group chat

• My personal information has been intentionally exposed online

• A malicious rumor about my private lives has been exposed online

Threat and extortion

• I have received private messages/chats online that threatened my life

• I have received private messages/chats online that threatened my family

• I was threatened by someone who would expose my private lives and/or rumors about me if not given the demanded money and/or valuables

• I have been extorted online money, cash, game item, or mobile data by someone online