Exploring the psychometric properties of the Cyberbullying Attitude Scale (CBAS) and its relation with teasing and gratitude in Indian collegiates

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Cyberbullying Attitude Scale (CBAS) in Indian college students with the help of two independent studies.Design/methodology/approachThe first study investigated the factorial validity of the scale using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), resulting in a seven-item, two-component model of CBAS. Two statements were excluded owing to inadequate factor loading. The second study evaluated the reliability and criterion validity of the model extracted after CFA using the Weight-Based Teasing Scale (WBTS), PhQ9 as convergent indices and Gratitude Questionnaire 6 (GQ6) as divergent indices.FindingsIt was observed that the Indian version of the scale differs from the original version in two ways. First, the Indian CBAS comprised seven items, while the original CBAS consisted of nine items. Second, in the original CBAS, two factors of cyberbullying, i.e. hostile cyberbullying attitudes (HCA) and general cyberbullying characteristics (GCC), contained five and four statements, respectively. However, the Indian CBAS comprised five and two statements, respectively. Further, the Indian CBAS showed convergence with WBTS and PhQ9 and divergence with GQ6.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to explore the psychometric properties of Indian CBAS and its relations with teasing and gratitude.

Weight-based teasing and depressive symptoms among Indian college students: exploring the moderating effect of gratitude

“…This broadened behaviour helps individuals develop social and psychological resources like self-resilience, optimism, hope and confidence . Social resources comprise trust, loyalty, respect and love for family, peers and others Bansal et al, 2022). On the other hand, psychological resources like hope and optimism may help the perpetrators and victims deal with shame and guilt arising out of weight-based teasing.…”

“…The incidences of weight-related teasing are both psychologically and physically wounding, especially when near and dear ones like parents are the perpetrators (Dahill et al, 2021). Victims can suffer from depression (Wright, 2018) and counterproductive work behaviour (Bansal et al, 2022). A study by Eisenberg et al (2003) suggested that the subjects (91.7%) whose parents or peers teased developed depressive symptoms in contrast to those who were not.…”

“…Researchers like Garg and Sarkar (2020) have also suggested that gratitude promotes vitality in Indian college students. Thus, gratitude can be used as one of the interventions to promote positive behaviour and hinder the ill effects of events like teasing, cyberbullying (Bansal et al, 2022) and depression. Eisenberg et al (2011) discuss the impact of weight-based teasing perpetrated by family or significant others and suggest methods to combat it.…”

“…When we consider college students, they have relatively more freedom, and their increased use of information communication technology (ICT) has made them a target of the same even through social networking sites (SNS) (Verma et al, 2022). Consequently, this has also resulted in the increased reporting of mental health issues among college students (Bansal et al, 2022). Further, it is also suggested in Beck's (1967) cognitive theory on depression that people tend to evaluate events negatively due to their systematic bias in the thinking process (Mcleod, 2015) and their experiences foster their behaviours and vice versa.…”

“…One such issue is depression. Depression is not a new subject of study for scientists around the globe (Bansal et al ., 2022). Still, the rising cases of depression pose a significant concern to researchers and medical practitioners (Santomauro et al ., 2021).…”