Assessing Cyberbullying in Adolescence: New Evidence for the Spanish Version of the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (ECIP-Q)

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct 30;19(21):14196. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192114196.

Abstract

The prevention of cyberbullying at school requires assessing its prevalence by means of brief measurement instruments with adequate psychometric properties. The present study aims to study the psychometric properties of the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (ECIP-Q) in a sample of 1777 Spanish adolescents (54.1% women, M = 15.71 years; SD = 1.26), selected by stratified random cluster sampling. The two-factor model (victimization and aggression) displayed appropriate goodness of-fit indices. Configural measurement invariance model across gender was found. The omega reliability coefficient for the victimization subscale was 0.82, and for the aggression subscale was 0.68. The ECIP-Q scores were negatively associated with self-esteem and prosocial behavior, and positively associated with depression symptoms and emotional and behavioral difficulties. Significant differences were found between victim and non-victim groups, and between aggressor and non-aggressor groups on the same variables. Victims and aggressors scored lower on self-esteem, and higher on depression symptoms and emotional and behavioral difficulties than those not involved in cyberbullying situations. These findings contribute to demonstrate the satisfactory psychometric quality of the ECIP-Q scores as an assessment tool for cyberbullying in Spanish adolescents.

Keywords: ECIP-Q; cyberbullying; depression; measurement invariance; psychometric properties; self-esteem.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Bullying* / psychology
  • Crime Victims* / psychology
  • Cyberbullying* / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the “Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Agency and the European Regional Development Fund (Project financed PID2021-127301OB-I00 by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, EU)”. and the “BBVA Foundation Grants for Scientific Research Teams 2017”.