Psychometric properties of the Persian version of Bullying and Cyberbullying Scale for Adolescents (BCS-A) in Iranian students

Abstract

Objective: Cyberbullying, which is defined as an intentional, aggressive, and repetitive behaviour where a person or group uses electronic devices (primarily the Internet and smartphones), is a new concept specifically for the Iranian educational system. We examined the Bullying and Cyberbullying Scale for Adolescents’ (BCS-A) psychometric properties in Persian-speaking Iranian adolescents. Design: A sample of 301 students studying in Arak city, Iran (female = 154) completed bullying and cyberbullying scale (BCS-A), School Belonging scale (SBS), and Youth Internalizing and Externalizing Screener (YIBS and YEBS). Result: Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the BCS-A measurement model, which structured each of the 13 items as indicators of the four victimization factors (i.e., physical, verbal, relational, and cyber), provided adequate-data model fit. These analyses also revealed that both victimization and cyber-victimization had adverse predictive effects on school belonging and positive predictive effects on internalizing and externalizing problems. Furthermore, bullying significantly predicted school belonging and mental health problems. Conclusion: This study is the first to examine the psychometric properties of BCS-A in the Iranian sample. This study is an essential step in validating the scale for Iranian adolescents. This study has some implications for educators, researchers and policymakers. © 2023 Australian Psychological Society.