Aggression/Victimization Scale

Background of the  Aggression/Victimization Scale:


The Aggression/Victimization Scale is a tool used to measure the levels of aggression and victimization in a given situation. This scale is commonly used to assess the likelihood of physical, verbal, and psychological aggression or victimization in a variety of settings, including schools, workplaces, and homes. The Aggression/Victimization Scale is composed of three subscales: physical aggression, verbal aggression, and psychological aggression. Each subscale is composed of items that measure the frequency of aggressive or victimizing behaviors. For example, the physical aggression subscale includes items such ashitting,pushing, andkicking. The verbal aggression subscale contains items such asnamecalling,yelling, andthreatening. The psychological aggression subscale includes items such asintimidation,manipulation, andhumiliation. The Aggression/Victimization Scale is a valuable tool for assessing the levels of aggression and victimization in a given situation. It is often used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce aggression and victimization. For example, the Aggression/Victimization Scale has been used to evaluate the effectiveness of schoolbased violence prevention programs. The Aggression/Victimization Scale is a useful tool for researchers, educators, and clinicians. It can be used to evaluate the levels of aggression and victimization in a given situation, as well as to assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce aggression and victimization.

Items of the Aggression/Victimization Scale:


1. How many times did a kid from your school tease you?
2. How many times did a kid from your school push‚ shove‚ or hit you?
3. How many times did a kid from your school call you a bad name?
4. How many times did kids from your school say that they were going to hit you?
5. How many times did other kids leave you out on purpose?
6. How many times did a student make up something about you to make other kids not like you anymore?
Aggression
7. How many times did you tease a kid from your school?
8. How many times did you push‚ shove‚ or hit a kid from you school?
9. How many times did you call a kid from your school a bad name?
10. How many times did you say that you would hit a kid from your school?
11. How many times did you leave out another kid on purpose?
12. How many times did you make up something about other students to make other kids not like them anymore?

Psychometric properties of the Aggression/Victimization Scale:


These items measure the frequency of being victimized or showing self-reported aggressive behaviors during the previous week. It combines longer versions of an Aggression Scale and a Victimization Scale (both found in the same Compendium)‚ and asks respondents to think about how many times specific behaviors occurred during the past seven days.
 
This tool touches on the following keywords:
·         Violence and Bullying
·         Delinquency and Antisocial Behavior
This instrument can be found on pages 171-172 of Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes‚ Behaviors‚ and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools‚ available online at:http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf .
 
Has been used previously on students in grades 4 and 5‚ bout could easily be adapted for older youth populations.
 
For each question‚ indicate how many times you did something during the last 7 days. Number of times 0‚ 1‚ 2‚ 3‚ 4‚ 5‚ and 6+
Point values for all items are added. Intended range is between 0 and 72 points. Each point represents one instance of victimization or aggression reported by the student during the week prior to the survey. If four or more items are missing‚ the score cannot be computed. If three or less items are missing‚ these values are replaced by the respondent’s average. Higher scores indicate higher levels of victimization and aggression.

References of the Aggression/Victimization Scale:


Orpinas‚ P.‚ & Frankowski‚ R. (2001). The aggression scale: a self-report measure of aggressive behavior for young adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence‚ 21(1):51-68.

 
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