Development of the Cyberbullying Experiences Survey
Published online on March 26, 2013
Abstract
The majority of cyberbullying studies have examined middle and high school students. The purpose of the present study was to develop a multifactor cyberbullying victimization and perpetration survey for use with an emerging adult population. The initial 88-item preliminary survey (44 victimization and 44 perpetration items) was administered to 538 college students (421 females). Exploratory factor analyses revealed four-factor (i.e., malice, public humiliation, unwanted contact, and deception) victimization and perpetration scales. A confirmatory factor analysis was then performed on the Cyberbullying Experiences Survey (CES) factor structure with a separate sample of 638 college students (446 females). Results indicated a final 21-item victimization scale and 20-item perpetration scale consisting of the same four factors. The CES has adequate internal consistency and convergent validity with other measures of cyberbullying and Internet harassment and may provide a promising multifactor method of measuring cyberbullying victimization and perpetration.