Measures of aggression and victimization in portuguese adolescents: Cross-cultural validation of the Revised Peer Experience Questionnaire

Abstract

The goal of this research was to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Portuguese version of the Revised Peer Experience Questionnaire, which assesses aggression, victimization and prosocial behavior. Victimization and aggression among adolescents in school settings is a growing problem, not yet fully understood or properly evaluated, particularly in Portugal. A sample of 1320 adolescents was recruited (52.7% female), with ages varying from 10 to 18 years old, attending middle and high school. Confirmatory factor analysis confirms the measurement model of the instrument's bully and victim versions, as evaluating overt, relational, and reputational aggression/victimization and providing/receiving prosocial behavior, respectively. This measurement model was invariant across schooling and gender, showed adequate internal consistency indicators, and presented evidence for construct validity in relation to other variables. Descriptive analyses indicate that boys are more aggressive in overt and relational forms and victimized through overt aggression, whereas girls are more aggressive and victimized relationally. More than any form of aggression or victimization, boys and girls revealed higher values for engaging in and receiving prosocial behavior. These results suggest that this instrument is a reliable, valid, and structurally sound measure of aggression, victimization and prosocial behavior in this Portuguese school-based community sample. Hence, its use may assist researchers in gaining a better understanding of adolescent aggression and victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record