Testing measurement invariance and multilevel factor structures of bullying among Iranian adolescents

ABSTRACT School bullying is a significant public health problem and a widespread type of school violence. Empirically validated evaluation scales are needed for use in research and practice to explain the nature and scope of adolescent bullying. The current study investigated the multilevel factor structure and measurement invariance of the Olweus bullying, victimization, and perpetration scales across gender and school types on a random sample of 1,558 Iranian adolescences. Although results indicated adequate goodness of fit for the one-factor and four-factor structures in both scales, it seems like the four-factor structure is more appropriate for use in within-level (students) and the one-factor for between-level (school). In addition, measurement invariance analyses showed that configural, metric, and scalar invariance were established across gender and school types. These findings provide psychometrical support for the use of the Olweus bullying, victimization, and perpetration scales in Iranian adolescents.