title: Gender bias in the measurement of peer victimization: an application of item response theory.
abstract: There continues to be great debate regarding the conceptualization and measurement of peer victimization, particularly with respect to gender differences in children's victimization experiences. We employed traditional and modern psychometric methods (e.g., item response theory) to evaluate a 10-item youth-report measure of peer victimization (e.g., threatening, spreading rumors/lies, and cyberbullying) among 17,198 students in Grades 6-12. A two-factor model that differentiated between direct and indirect victimization subtypes best characterized students' experiences and substantially reduced the potential for gender-based measurement bias. Implications for the gender-sensitive assessment of peer victimization are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. bevans@email.chop.edu
authors.forename: Katherine B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Bevans
authors.forename: Catherine P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Bradshaw
authors.forename: Tracy E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Waasdorp
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D015982:Bias; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology*; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012649:Self Concept; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: bullying; gender bias; measurement; peer victimization; psychometrics