Adaptation and validation of the Illinois Bullying Scale (IBS)

The issues of bullying and cyberbullying have recently become increasingly relevant and widely discussed. Research shows that peer bullying is associated with negative psychological consequences, including distress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, psychosis, and suicide attempts, across different age groups. This directly impacts the subsequent psychological functioning of all participants in the bullying and contributes to the development of certain personality types. The purpose of the article is to present the results of adaptation and validation of the Illinois Bullying Scale (IBS) for usage in adults in Russia. This scale is designed to assess the level of victimization, verbal and physical aggression. We studied 1,296 people faced bullying and control group of those who had never faced it. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analysis showed that all scales are independent. The α Kronbach coefficient showed high consistency of each scale in the general sample (α Kronbach from 0.811 to 0.919), samples of men and women (α Kronbach from 0.799 to 0.925), and age-diverse (α Kronbach from 0.801 to 0.933) samples. The internal consistency of the questionnaire is confirmed by correlations between the scales. Analysis of variance confirmed the differences in degree of severity in victimization, physical and verbal aggression depending on the position in bullying situation. The application of the technique will allow us to study the long-term consequences of bullying for those who experienced it at school age. This will help to better understand the long-term effects of bullying on mental health and social adjustment of people and develop more effective strategies for their rehabilitation.

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