The Utility of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire in Identifying Stably Peer-Victimized Children

<p>I evaluated the utility of using the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) in identifying stably peer-victimized children. Participants were 676 fourth grade students from 37 classrooms in ten public schools. Stable peer victims were identified as children who met elevated levels of peer victimization at both fall and late spring assessments from at least one source (i.e., self, peer, teacher). Four potential screeners using the OBVQ were evaluated. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify how well a recommended cutoff point from the global item of the OBVQ (i.e., being bullied 2 or 3 times a month) identified stable victims. Additional analyses were undertaken to evaluate the utility of using other thresholds from the OBVQ (i.e., being bullied about once a week, several times a week). Four items related to specific types of victimization (i.e., relational, verbal, physical, exclusionary) from the OBVQ were averaged as a continuous variable to evaluate another potential method of identifying stable victims. Gender and ethnicity (i.e., Hispanic, Caucasian non-Hispanic) were explored in analyses for the optimal screener. The results indicated that the OBVQ underperformed in identifying stably victimized children. Possible reasons as to why the screeners were less than optimal were explored, as well as potential implications for the field. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts in Psychology (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Pastrana Rivera, Freddie Aníbal

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Cavell, Timothy A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Bridges, Ana J.
• Leen-Feldner, Ellen W.

• Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire
• Peer Victimization
• School Bullying
• Screener
• Stable Peer Victims
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Elementary Education
• School Psychology
• Social Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2111

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uark.edu:etd-3650