Development and Validation of the Malaysia Cybervictimization Scale for Adolescents in Malay and Chinese Version

The increasing rate of cybervictimization has been documented in various countries, including Malaysia. However, there is a dearth of measurement tools with sound psychometric properties suitable for the Malaysian context. To address this methodological gap, the Malaysia Cybervictimization Scale for Adolescents (MyCVS-A) was developed based on qualitative inputs from adolescents in Malaysia. It was subsequently translated into Malay (MyCVS-A-M) and Chinese (MyCVS-A-C). Two studies were conducted to examine the psychometric properties of these two translated versions. In Study 1, 281 secondary school students completed the MyCVS-A-M, the Malay version of the cybervictimization subscale of the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (CV-ECIPQ), and the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results supported the MyCVS-A-M as a unidimensional scale, whereas coefficients of Cronbach alpha and McDonald omega and composite reliability supported its internal consistency. Moreover, in support of the convergent and concurrent validity, there was a positive correlation between the MyCVS-A-M scores and the scores of the CV-ECIPQ and SMFQ, respectively. In Study 2, 203 secondary school students answered the Chinese version of the MyCVS-A-C and the Chinese version of the CV-ECIPQ and SMFQ, and the findings replicated those of Study 1. The consistency supports the fact that the MyCVS-A is a useful self-report tool for assessing adolescents’ experiences of cybervictimization in the Malaysian context.