Assessing School Victimization in the United States, Guatemala, and Israel: Cross-cultural psychometric analysis of the School Victimization Scale

Jennifer Greif Green, Michael J. Furlong, Ron A. Astor, Rami Benbenishty, Evelyn Espinoza

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

There is a need for cross-national estimates of school victimization prevalence, yet limited methodological research in this area. The current study evaluates the School Victimization Scale (SVS), administered in the U.S., Guatemala, and Israel (total N = 9,722). SVS measurement equivalence was tested to compare subgroups within each country. Two SVS factors emerged in all countries reflecting higher-severity (weapon-related) and lower-severity (physical/verbal) victimization. Israeli data had poor scalar equivalence; Jewish and Arab students with the same SVS score endorsed different items. Findings illustrate the complexity of cross-national measurement of school victimization and the potential for misleading results when psychometric equivalence is ignored.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)290-305
Number of pages16
JournalVictims and Offenders
Volume6
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adolescents
  • Assessment
  • Cross-cultural
  • International
  • School violence

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