Handling Bullying Questionnaire (HBQ)

Abstract

The Handling Bullying Questionnaire (HBQ) is a specialized psychometric instrument developed primarily by Ken Rigby and Sheri Bauman to assess the strategies used by school personnel, such as teachers and counselors, when addressing incidents of bullying. This 22-item scale utilizes a 5-point Likert scale format to measure the likelihood of staff members employing various intervention methods. The HBQ is structured around five distinct factors, allowing researchers to analyze the multidimensionality of adult responses to peer victimization in educational settings. It serves as a crucial tool for evaluating the effectiveness of anti-bullying training and understanding the real-world application of school policies.

Keywords

Bullying, School personnel, Intervention strategies, Teacher attitudes, Psychometric properties, Peer victimization, School counselor, Educator response

Authors

Ken Rigby, Sheri Bauman, Kathleen Hoppa

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Handling Bullying Questionnaire (HBQ) is to systematically evaluate the repertoire of strategies that educators and school staff members perceive they would use, or actually use, when intervening in incidents of school bullying. The scale moves beyond simple adherence to policy by quantifying the behavioral intentions and preferred approaches of school personnel across a range of potential responses. This quantification is vital for identifying common practices, gaps in training, and areas where staff may feel inadequately equipped to handle complex social situations involving aggression.

By measuring responses across different dimensions, the HBQ allows administrators and researchers to benchmark staff intervention styles, which can range from punitive disciplinary actions to restorative practices focused on social-emotional learning for both the victim and the perpetrator. The instrument provides empirical data essential for designing targeted professional development programs aimed at improving staff efficacy in managing peer conflict.

Construct

The HBQ measures the construct of “Strategies for Handling Bullying,” defined as the array of cognitive and behavioral responses school staff members employ or intend to employ when faced with a bullying incident. This is conceptualized as a multi-dimensional construct comprising various tactical approaches rather than a single unified trait. The scale distinguishes between intervention strategies that focus on the victim, those that focus on the bully, strategies of avoidance or inaction, strategies involving external support systems, and strategies centered on formal discipline.

The responses measured reflect the participant’s perceived self-efficacy and philosophical approach to conflict resolution within the school environment. The 22 items cover a wide spectrum of possible actions, forcing respondents to choose between immediate authoritative intervention, collaborative problem-solving, reliance on peer mediation, or deferral to higher administrative levels or external adults.

Validity

While specific detailed analyses of criterion and discriminant validity are often found in accompanying literature, the HBQ demonstrates strong content validity. The items were developed based on common, observed responses and theoretical models of anti-bullying intervention, ensuring that the scale comprehensively covers the typical range of actions taken by school personnel.

Construct validity is supported by the results of the factor analysis (Bauman et al., 2008), which successfully identified five theoretically coherent and distinct subscales. These factors align with established research frameworks regarding adult responses to peer aggression, lending credence to the scale’s ability to accurately measure the intended underlying dimensions of intervention strategy choice.

Reliability

The internal consistency reliability of the HBQ subscales was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, as reported in studies such as Bauman, Rigby, & Hoppa (2008). The reliability coefficients indicate acceptable to moderate internal consistency across most factors, although one factor falls below commonly accepted thresholds for robust research scales.

The reported alpha values for the five subscales are:

• Working with the victim: .75
• Working with the bully: .69
• Ignoring the incident: .70
• Enlisting other adults: .63
• Disciplining the bully: .45

The factors “Working with the victim” and “Ignoring the incident” demonstrate strong or acceptable reliability. The factor “Disciplining the bully” exhibits a lower alpha score of .45, suggesting that the items comprising this specific subscale may not be measuring a single, unified construct consistently, or that the behaviors related to formal discipline are highly variable across respondents.

Factor Analysis

The factor analysis of the HBQ (as detailed in Bauman et al., 2008) revealed a clear five-factor structure, which organizes the 22 items into distinct categories of intervention strategies. These factors represent the core ways in which school personnel conceptualize and execute responses to bullying incidents.

The five identified factors are:

• Working with the victim: Strategies focused on supporting and empowering the target of the bullying.
• Working with the bully: Strategies focused on engaging the perpetrator, often through counseling, discussion, or promoting empathy and self-esteem.
• Ignoring the incident: Strategies involving avoidance, minimization, or delegating responsibility to students or other colleagues.
• Enlisting other adults: Strategies involving reaching out to administrators, school counselors, or parents/guardians for assistance.
• Disciplining the bully: Strategies focused on punitive measures, insisting on behavioral change, or formal punishment.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Questionnaire/Attitude and Strategy Inventory

Format: 22 items using a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: Primarily English (US and Australian contexts).

Population Group: School personnel (Teachers, School Counselors, Administrators, other educational staff).

Age Group: Adults working in educational settings.

Population Details: Used extensively with US and Australian teachers and counselors in studies examining cross-national differences in intervention approaches.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the likelihood of performing each action using the scale: (5) I definitely Would, I probably Would, I’m unsure, I probably would not, (1) I definitely would not.

Keywords

Educational psychology, Teacher behavior, School climate, Intervention research, Peer aggression, Anti-bullying programs, Cronbach’s alpha, Factor analysis

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material, but Ken Rigby’s work is associated with Flinders University (Retired) and research in South Australia.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Handling Bullying Questionnaire (HBQ) was developed around 2006. The instrument is generally available for non-commercial research purposes, often accessible via the authors’ professional websites. The original instrument and related publications can be found on Ken Rigby’s website: www.kenrigby.net/01a-Questionnaires.

A key publication detailing the scale and its application to US teachers and school counselors is available as a PDF, titled “US teachers’ and school counsellors’ strategies for handling school bullying incidents” (Bauman and Rigby, 2006). The original PDF can be downloaded here: Bauman and Rigby‚ 2006.

Reference’s

• Rigby‚ K. (2006). Handling Bullying Questionnaire. Retrieved from http://www.kenrigby.net/
• Rigby‚ K & Bauman‚ S (2007) What teachers think should be done about cases of bullying. Professional Educator‚ ACER‚ Melbourne.
• Bauman‚ Sheri.‚ Rigby‚ Ken & Hoppa‚ Kathleen. (2008). US teachers’ and school counsellors’ strategies for handling school bullying incidents. Educational Psychology‚ 28(7)‚ 837-856.
• Rigby‚ K and Bauman‚ S (2010) How school personnel tackle cases of bullying: A critical examination. In Shane Jimerson‚ Susan Swearer and Dorothy Espelage (Eds) The International Handbook of School Bullying‚ New York: Routledge‚ 455-468.

Items of the Handling Bullying Questionnaire (HBQ)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.