Attitudes towards School Violence Questionnaire, Revised Version: CAHV-28

Abstract

School coexistence/violence is often the subject of social alarm. There is no consensus on the prevalence of violent behavior in the classroom, but there does seem to be about its differences according to sex, socioeconomic level, or the importance of preventive interventions for its reduction. Models consider attitudes towards violence as an indicator of risk for its expression. The objectives of this study are to explore the psychometric properties of the revised version of Cuestionario de Actitudes Hacia la Violencia [Attitudes towards Violence Questionnaire] (CAHV-25) in primary and secondary education students, proposing a version of four scales and a total of 28 items, along with the exploration of their significance as a function of sex and academic cycle. A qualitative review of CAHV-25 and a psychometric study of the revised version in each of its original dimensions was carried out, obtaining the fit indicators of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, the scale was studied as a function of sex and educational stage se in school children (N = 600) of the Region of Murcia (Spain). The four dimensions show better psychometric properties in their revised version. Attitudes towards violence are more present in males and in secondary school. As conclusions, the proposed version optimizes the detection of attitudes towards violence in schoolchildren and suggests more specific school violence prevention programs.