Development of the Sri Lankan early teenagers' violence inventory: An instrument to measure peer violence in schools

Abstract

This study was designed to develop an inventory to measure peer violence among early teens (13–15 years of age) in schools in Sri Lanka. Development of SLETVI was carried out in two phases. In phase I, development of an operational definition for peer violence, identification, and finalizing violent acts for inventory was done by a combination of qualitative methods: a comprehensive literature review, focus group discussions among 13–15-year-old adolescents, their teachers and parents, and consultative meetings with experts in the field. Inventory was then pretested. In phase II, elaboration of SLETVI was carried out by administering it to a sample of 1700 adolescents (13–15 years old). Exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis was performed separately for experiences of victimization and perpetration. Test-retest reliability of SLETVI was assessed. SLETVI included 37 items in three factors: “less severe violence,” “severe physical,” and “severe relational” violence. Combined use of qualitative and quantitative methods enabled development of a culturally valid and reliable operational inventory to assess early teenagers’ peer violence in Sri Lankan and other South Asian schools.