Adolescent Defending Behaviors Questionnaire (ADBQ)

Description

The Adolescent Defending Behaviors Questionnaire (ADBQ; Wang et al., 2023) is an inventory/questionnaire designed to measure defending behaviors in bullying situations among adolescents. It is a 24-item original instrument. The items for the ADBQ were initially derived from existing measures related to defending behaviors. These items were originally in English, then translated into Chinese by the first author and subsequently reviewed by two bilingual experts. A back-translation from Chinese to English was also conducted to ensure the accuracy of the Chinese translation. This process resulted in an initial pool of 27 items, which was further refined and supplemented with additional items obtained through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. An expert panel then reviewed these items, leading to a total of 34 items. Data for the development and validation of the ADBQ were collected across two studies. The final 24-item instrument was supported by a 5-factor model, and detailed results regarding its reliability and validity have been reported.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the ADBQ is to assess the multidimensionality of defending behaviors in adolescents.

Validity

Construct validity: The ADBQ’s five distinct defending dimensions demonstrated differential associations with various psychological constructs including cognitive and affective empathy, aggression, sociability, peer preference, and victimization experiences, providing evidence for its construct validity.

Reliability

Internal consistency: The internal consistency of the ADBQ, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha, ranged from .78 to .93 across its factors.

Test–retest reliability: The test-retest reliability between Time 1 and Time 2 was found to be adequate for all factors, with correlation coefficients as follows: assertive defending r = .32, aggressive defending r = .25, comforting victims r = .40, reporting to authority r = .35, and tactical defending r = .30. All reported correlations were statistically significant (p < .01).

Factor Analysis

Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analysis: A 5-factor model consisting of 24 items was supported by factor analysis, accounting for 56.1% of the cumulative variance in the model. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) results indicated that both a five-factor structure, χ² (401) = 963.33, p < .001, CFI = .949, TLI = .928, RMSEA = .041 (90% confidence interval [CI] = [.038, .045]), and a six-factor structure, χ² (372) = 935.590, p < .001, CFI = .948, TLI = .925, RMSEA = .043 (90% CI = [.039, .046]), provided a good fit to the data. However, the six-factor model did not significantly improve the fit compared to the five-factor model, as indicated by the minor decrease in CFI and TLI (<.010) and the minor increase in RMSEA (<.015). The five-factor model with 24 ADBQ items was further examined using EFA, yielding adequate goodness-of-fit indices: χ² (166) = 817.21, p < .001, CFI = .961, TLI = .936, RMSEA = .060 (90% CI = [.056, .064]).

Measurement invariance: Measurement invariance (MI) analyses indicated that the ADBQ is generalizable across gender.

Instrument

• Test Type: Original

• Format: Items are measured on a five-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

• Language Available: Chinese; English

• Population Group: Human; Male; Female

• Age Group: Childhood (birth-12 yrs); School Age (6-12 yrs)

• Population Details: The respondents were Chinese youth in Grades 4 to 6, located in China.

• Test Methodology: The development and validation of the ADBQ involved various test methodologies including Test Validity, Construct Validity, Content Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Test-Retest Reliability, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis, and Measurement Invariance.

Keywords

Assertive Defending, Aggressive Defending, Comforting Victims, Reporting to Authority, Tactical Defending, Adolescent Defending Behaviors, School Bullying, Bullying Situations, Defensiveness, Developmental Measures, Bullying, Adolescent Characteristics.

Authors

• Wang, Zixuan

  • Affiliation: East China Normal University

• Laninga-Wijnen, Lydia

  • Affiliation: University of Turku

• Garandeau, Claire F.

  • Author ORCID Identifier: orcid.org/0000-0002-0395-020X

  • Affiliation: University of Turku

• Liu, Junsheng

  • Author ORCID Identifier: orcid.org/0000-0002-6823-0617

  • Affiliation: East China Normal University School of Psychology and Cognitive Science

  • Email addresses: [email protected]

  • Correspondence Address: Liu, Junsheng: East China Normal University, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, 3663 Zhongshan Road (North), Shanghai, China, 200062.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

• Permissions: May be used for Research/Teaching purposes.

• Fee: No fee is required for its use.

• Test Year: 2023

Files

No file is available.

References

Wang, Z., Laninga-Wijnen, L., Garandeau, C. F., & Liu, J. (2023). Development and validation of the Adolescent Defending Behaviors Questionnaire among Chinese early adolescents. Assessment, 30(7), 2258–2275. doi.org/10.1177/10731911221149082

Items of the Adolescent Defending Behaviors Questionnaire (ADBQ)

The ADBQ is a 24-item measure that is categorized into five factors (subscales):

• Assertive defending

• Aggressive defending

• Comforting victims

• Reporting to authority

• Tactical defending

The items for the ADBQ are available in the supplemental material of the source reference, specifically on pages 12-14.

Adolescent Defending Behaviors Questionnaire (ADBQ)

1. 我 会 直 接 上 前 追 赶 、 拽 走 或 赶 走 欺 凌 者 ， 从 而 制 止 欺 负 行 为 。
   I tried to help the victim by chasing the bully away.

2. 我 会 跟 欺 凌 者 说 欺 负 别 人 是 不 对 的 。
   I said to the bully that bullying is wrong.

3. 我 会 骂 欺 凌 者 来 保 护 被 欺 负 的 同 学 。
   I called the bully names in order to stand up for the victim.

4. 我 会 把 欺 负 事 件 告 诉 老 师 。
   I went to tell the teacher about the bullying.

5. 我 会 在 课 间 和 被 欺 负 的 同 学 待 在 一 起 ， 陪 着 他/她 。
   I stayed with the victim during the breaks.

6. 我 会 跟 其 他 人 说 欺 负 别 人 是 不 对 的 。
   I said to the others that bullying is wrong.

7. 我 会 说 欺 凌 者 的 坏 话 ， 散 播 关 于 欺 凌 者 的 谣 言 ， 来 维 护 被 欺 负 的 同 学 。
   I spread nasty gossip about the bully to stand up for the victim.

8. 我 会 充 当 和 事 佬 或 者 通 过 言 语 调 停 来 解 决 欺 负 事 件 。
   I tried to act as a mediator to stop bullying.

9. 我 会 叫 停 欺 负 行 为 ， 比 如 说 ： “ 别 打 了 ” 、 “ 别 说 了 ” 、 “ 停 ！ ” 。
   I told the bully to stop bullying by saying “stop it”, “quit it”.

10. 我 会 告 诉 家 长 。
    I told a parent about the bullying.

11. 我 会 推 搡 、 踢 打 欺 凌 者 ， 让 他/她 停 止 欺 负 行 为 。
    I pushed or hit the bully to make it stop.

12. 我 会 在 课 余 时 间 和 被 欺 负 的 同 学 做 朋 友 。
    I was friend with the victim during the breaks.

13. 我 会 试 着 让 被 欺 负 的 同 学 高 兴 起 来 。
    I tried to cheer the victim up.

14. 我 会 拿 欺 凌 者 开 玩 笑 ， 以 支 持 受 欺 负 的 同 学 。
    I made fun of the bully to stand up for the victim.

15. 我 会 用 一 些 计 策 转 移 欺 凌 者 的 注 意 力 ， 让 他/她 不 再 欺 负 同 学 。
    I tried to draw the bully’s attention off to make him/her stop bullying.

16. 我 会 孤 立 欺 凌 者 ， 不 带 他/她 一 起 玩 。
    I tried to keep the bully out of activities or groups.

17. 我 会 对 被 欺 负 的 同 学 表 达 善 意 ， 对 他/她 好 。
    I was nice to the victim.

18. 我 会 在 看 到 欺 负 事 件 时 ， 假 装 大 喊 ： “ 老 师 来 了 ！ ” 从 而 吓 跑 欺 凌 者 。
    I pretended to shout, “here comes the teacher!” to scare away the bully.

19. 我 会 假 装 先 顺 着 欺 凌 者 ， 事 后 再 想 办 法 解 决 。
    I pretended to go along with the bully first, and then tried to find a way to resolve the issue later.