Description

The Illinois Bully Scale (IBS) is an assessment tool developed to measure the frequency and intensity of school bullying behavior. It was developed by Dr. Dorothy Espelage and her colleagues and is designed to evaluate bullying behavior from both the perspective of victims and perpetrators, as well as to understand the conditions and characteristics associated with bullying behavior.

Analysis

The Illinois Bully Scale includes questions that cover various aspects of bullying behavior:

Frequency of Bullying: Measures the frequency with which bullying incidents occur in school or social settings.

Types of Bullying: Examines different types of bullying behavior, such as physical violence, verbal aggression, and social isolation.

Impact on Victims: Assesses the impact of bullying behavior on victims, including psychological and emotional effects.

Perpetrator Behavior: Examines the behaviors of perpetrators, including the causes and motivations behind their bullying behavior.

The analysis of the results involves calculating scores for each domain and interpreting the data in relation to bullying behavior.

Objective

The objective of the Illinois Bully Scale is to:

Assess Bullying Behaviors: Identify and assess bullying behaviors in school or social settings.

Understand Conditions and Causes: Understand the conditions and characteristics associated with bullying behavior.

Guide Interventions: Provide data that can be used to develop and implement intervention and prevention strategies for bullying.

Scoring

The scoring of the Illinois Bully Scale includes:

Overall Score: Calculation of the overall score from the various scales of the questionnaire. Higher scores indicate a greater presence of bullying behavior.

Severity Categories: The assessment may include severity categories to determine the level of bullying and the need for intervention.

Bibliography

Espelage, D. L., & Swearer, S. M. (2003). Research on school bullying and victimization: What have we learned and where do we go from here? School Psychology Review, 32(3), 365-383. Espelage, D. L., & Holt, M. (2001). Bullying and victimization during early adolescence: Peer influences and psychosocial correlates. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 1(2), 17-43. Espelage, D. L., & Hong, J. S. (2017). Bullying in middle school: Current status and future directions. The Journal of School Health, 87(8), 601-607.