Assessing teasing in school-age youth.
Teasing, a common childhood behavior and a frequent precursor to bullying, is known to affect children's developmental outcomes. Despite its ubiquity, no psychometrically valid instrument exists that directly assesses teasing in children. This study reports the development and validity of the Physical Appearance Related Teasing Scale-Revised (PARTS-R), a 14-item scale. The PARTS-R was evaluated using a sample (N = 89) of Arkansas students. Psychometric analysis involved item analysis, principal components analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation, and internal consistency reliability. Three factors--Forms of Harassment, Appearance-Related Teasing, and Physical-Related Teasing--were identified and accounted for 57% of the variance, confirming the conceptual intent of the instrument. Cronbach's alphas for the factors were.83,.74, and.70, respectively. Adequate stability also was demonstrated. Implications for further validation work are identified.
Vessey
Judith A
JA
Lelia Holden Carroll Professor in Nursing, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, USA. vessey@bc.edu
Duffy
Mary
M
O'Sullivan
Patricia
P
Swanson
Margo
M
D000293:Adolescent; D001131:Arkansas / Q000453:epidemiology; D001828:Body Image; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000592:standards; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012572:School Health Services; D012649:Self Concept; D013223:Statistics as Topic