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How much do adolescents cybergossip?: Scale development in validation in Spain and Colombia

Romera Félix, Eva María; Herrera-López, Mauricio; Casas Bolaños, José Antonio; Ortega Ruiz, Rosario; Rey Alamillo, Rosario del

Abstract

Cybergossip is the act of two or more people making evaluative comments via digital devices about somebody who is not present. This cyberbehavior affects the social group in which it occurs and can either promote or hinder peer relationships. Scientific studies that assess the nature of this emerging and interactive behavior in the virtual world are limited. Some research on traditional gossip has identified it as an inherent and defining element of indirect relational aggression. This paper adopts and argues for a wider definition of gossip that includes positive comments and motivations. This work also suggests that cybergossip has to be measured independently from traditional gossip due to key differences when it occurs through ICT. This paper presents the Colombian and Spanish validation of the Cybergossip Questionnaire for Adolescents (CGQ-A), involving 3,747 high school students (M = 13.98 years old, SD = 1.69; 48.5% male), of which 1,931 were Colombian and 1,816 were Spanish. Test models derived from item response theory, confirmatory factor analysis, content validation, and multi-group analysis were run on the full sample and subsamples for each country and both genders. The obtained optimal fit and psychometric properties confirm the robustness and suitability of a one-dimensional structure for the cybergossip instrument. The multi-group analysis shows that the cybergossip construct is understood similarly in both countries and between girls and boys. The composite reliability ratifies convergent and divergent validity of the scale. Descriptive results show that Colombian adolescents gossip less than their Spanish counterparts and that boys and girls use cybergossip to the same extent. As a conclusion, this study confirmes the relationship between cybergossip and cyberbullying, but it also supports a focus on positive cybergossip in psychoeducational interventions to build positive virtual relationships and prevent risky cyberbehaviors.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 12 Feb ua y 2018 doi: 10.3389/ psyg.2018.00126 F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 1Feb ua y 2018 | Volume 9 | A icle 126 Edi ed by: Va un Du , Indian Ins i u e o Technology Mandi, India Re iewed by: Michelle Hood, G i i h Uni e si y, Aus alia Da id Ál a ez-Ga cía, Uni e sidad de O iedo Mie es, Spain *Co espondence: E a M. Rome a [email p o ec ed] Special y sec ion: This a icle was submi ed o Cogni i e Science, a sec ion o he jou nal F on ie s in Psychology Recei ed: 31 Augus 2017 Accep ed: 25 Janua y 2018 Published: 12 Feb ua y 2018 Ci a ion: Rome a EM, He e a-López M, Casas JA, O ega Ruiz R and Del Rey R (2018) How Much Do Adolescen s Cybe gossip? Scale De elopmen and Valida ion in Spain and Colombia. F on . Psychol. 9:126. doi: 10.3389/ psyg.2018.00126 How Much Do Adolescen s Cybe gossip? Scale De elopmen and Valida ion in Spain and Colombia E a M. Rome a1*, Mau icio He e a-López2, José A. Casas1, Rosa io O ega Ruiz1,3 and Rosa io Del Rey4 1Depa men o Psychology, Uni e sidad de Có doba, Có doba, Spain, 2Depa men o Psychology, Uni e sidad de Na iño, San Juan de Pas o, Colombia, 3Depa men o Psychology, Social Wo k and Counselling, Uni e si y o G eenwich, London, Uni ed Kingdom, 4Depa men o De elopmen and Educa ional Psychology, Uni e sidad de Se illa, Se ille, Spain Cybe gossip is he ac o wo o mo e people making e alua i e commen s ia digi al de ices abou somebody who is no p esen . This cybe beha io a ec s he social g oup in which i occu s and can ei he p omo e o hinde pee ela ionships. Scien i ic s udies ha assess he na u e o his eme ging and in e ac i e beha io in he i ual wo ld a e limi ed. Some esea ch on adi ional gossip has iden i ied i as an inhe en and de ining elemen o indi ec ela ional agg ession. This pape adop s and a gues o a wide de ini ion o gossip ha includes posi i e commen s and mo i a ions. This wo k also sugges s ha cybe gossip has o be measu ed independen ly om adi ional gossip due o key di e ences when i occu s h ough ICT. This pape p esen s he Colombian and Spanish alida ion o he Cybe gossip Ques ionnai e o Adolescen s (CGQ-A), in ol ing 3,747 high school s uden s (M=13.98 yea s old, SD =1.69; 48.5% male), o which 1,931 we e Colombian and 1,816 we e Spanish. Tes models de i ed om i em esponse heo y, con i ma o y ac o analysis, con en alida ion, and mul i-g oup analysis we e un on he ull sample and subsamples o each coun y and bo h gende s. The ob ained op imal i and psychome ic p ope ies con i m he obus ness and sui abili y o a one-dimensional s uc u e o he cybe gossip ins umen . The mul i-g oup analysis shows ha he cybe gossip cons uc is unde s ood simila ly in bo h coun ies and be ween gi ls and boys. The composi e eliabili y a i ies con e gen and di e gen alidi y o he scale. Desc ip i e esul s show ha Colombian adolescen s gossip less han hei Spanish coun e pa s and ha boys and gi ls use cybe gossip o he same ex en . As a conclusion, his s udy con i mes he ela ionship be ween cybe gossip and cybe bullying, bu i also suppo s a ocus on posi i e cybe gossip in psychoeduca ional in e en ions o build posi i e i ual ela ionships and p e en isky cybe beha io s. Keywo ds: gossip, cybe gossip, adolescence, sel - epo , psychome ic p ope ies, gende , c oss-cul u al Rome a e al. Cybe gossip in Adolescence INTRODUCTION Gossip Gossip is de ined as a ype o e alua i e con e sa ion abou somone else who is no p esen (Ede and Enke, 1991; Fos e , 2004). These con e sa ions ha e a si ua ional na u e, as he message emission and in e p e a ion depend on he con ex in which hey a e p oduced (We and Salo ey, 2004). Gossip is a widesp ead and epea ed p ac ice, o which a g ea pa o daily con e sa ions is usually de o ed (Dunba e al., 1997; Le in and A luke, 2013). Gossip has and had a bad epu a ion h oughou ime and ac oss cul u es because i is conside ed as sel -se ing and seen o be ca ied ou o maliciously manipula e he imp essions he hea e s ha e abou a hi d pe son (Goodman and Ben-Ze’e , 1994). Ne e heless, some e idence exis s o he posi i e e ec s o gossip (Baumeis e e al., 2004; Dunba , 2004; Alexand o e al., 2013). Resea ch on he posi i e side o gossip has mainly ocused on i s g oup-se ing unc ions. I has been said ha i can be use ul o in o m membe s o he g oup abou i s no ms and sanc ions (G osse e al., 2010), o p o ec he g oup om hose who b eak he ules (Bee sma and Van Klee , 2011; Feinbe g e al., 2014), o in luence i s membe s’ epu a ion (Gia dini, 2012) and o s eng hen social links wi hin he g oup (Dunba , 2004). Seen his way, gossip p omo es he common good (Bee sma and Van Klee , 2012), and cons ains sel -se ing beha io s ha could damage he g oup gi en he in luence i may ha e on membe s’ epu a ion and inclusion (Bee sma and Van Klee , 2011). Indi idual bene i s ha e also been asc ibed o hose who ecei e gossip, as i allows ob aining e alua i e in o ma ion abou o he s ha can se e as a e e ence wi h which o e alua e onesel (We and Salo ey, 2004). In pa icula , gossip has been shown o inc ease one’s sel -imp o emen alue, an impo an dimension o sel -e alua ion (Ma inescu e al., 2014). This bene i e lec s he lea ning unc ion o gossip, p omo ing impo an social lea ning abou how o achie e success o a oid ailu e in speci ic social si ua ions (Baumeis e e al., 2004). In his con ex , posi i e gossip is aluable o he indi idual because i p o ides a model o imi a e (Li man and Pezzo, 2005). The ad ances in his line di ec owa d he necessi y o making he gossipe s’ mo al delibe a ion explici o egula e he ela ionships and gene a e a g ea e con idence (Pe e s and Kashima, 2015). In addi ion o p o iding in o ma ion, in luence, and s eng hen g oup bonds, gossip also has a g a i ying indi idual unc ion: en e ainmen (Fos e , 2004). Wha di e en ia es gossip om social cu iosi y—a ela ed ype o beha io —is i s objec i e. While gossip p edominan ly has an en e ainmen pu pose, social cu iosi y is mainly di ec ed a ob aining in o ma ion abou o he people (Ha ung and Renne , 2013). Gossip, Cybe gossip, and Cybe bullying A ecen s udy wi h mo e han 55,000 adolescen s om 20 di e en coun ies shows he widesp ead use o ICT in social communica ion and i s impo ance in social and pe sonal de elopmen (A eepa amannil and Khine, 2017). Al hough he e is gene al awa eness o ICT’s impo ance in adolescen ela ionships, he numbe o s udies on cybe gossip is limi ed (Oluwole, 2009; Laghi e al., 2013; Sub amanian, 2013). Mo eo e , mos o he s udies ha do exis ha e aken place wi hin he ield o compu e science (e.g., Apolloni e al., 2013), and only a ew ha e come o h om he psychology sphe e (e.g., Gab iels and De Backe , 2016). Cybe gossip is he equi alen o gossip in he i ual wo ld, bu bo h phenomena mus be s udied in di e en ways, as he con ex s in which hey ake place di e and ma e . Fi s , ace- o- ace gossip makes use o e bal language, whils cybe gossip can ake he o m o w i en messages, images, and ideos. Second, cybe gossip messages a e eco ded and can be ep oduced exac ly as o iginally c ea ed, which may in luence wha is sha ed in he i s place (Be olo i and Magnani, 2013). Thi d, cybe gossip has he po en ial o each a wide audience, a any ime, and ins an aneously. Fou h, gi en he limi ed p osodic, pa alinguis ic, and ex alinguis ic elemen s ha can be used in i ual communica ion, i is ha de o bo h he sende o con ey he social in en ion behind he message and o he ecipien o ecognize i (Ca e a and Pelayo, 2002). This inc eases he possibili y o misunde s andings, which can lead o cybe agg ession and cybe ic imizing beha io s and he e o e o cybe bullying (Del Rey e al., 2015). I is also impo an o di e en ia e be ween cybe gossip and cybe bullying. Gossip’s nega i e po en ial has led nume ous s udies o iden i y i as an indi ec o m o pee g oup agg ession ha has he aim o manipula e ano he ’s epu a ion o achie e his/he exclusion om he g oup (A che and Coyne, 2005). Ne e heless, a clea in en ion o damaging he o he is no necessa ily p esen in cybe gossip, while i is in cybe bullying (Tokunaga, 2010). The e o e, while ela ed, gossip, cybe gossip, and cybe bullying a e no di ec ly compa able and mus be s udied wi h ools app op ia ely designed o each o hese phenomena. The Need o Cybe gossip Scales o Adolescen s Despi e he di e ences be ween he phenomena, wo k on cybe gossip should ake esea ch in o i s o -line e sion as a s a ing poin . Gossip has been widely s udied and wi h di e en esea ch me hodologies. As an h opology is he dominan ield o he s udy o gossip, obse a ional echniques ha e been mos commonly used (Fos e , 2004), bu his is p oblema ic. Con idence and disc e ion a e wo ac o s ha in luence gossip (Gluckman, 1963) and hese condi ions a e di icul o gua an ee in expe imen al and obse a ional s udies. Sel - epo s udies do no iola e hese condi ions due o hei anonymous and e ospec i e na u e, and he e o e, despi e d awbacks which a e mainly ela ed o he isk o ob aining socially desi able answe s, o m he ideal me hodology o he measu emen o gossip (B ady e al., 2017). While he need o such quan i a i e s udies has been iden i ied (Noon and Delb idge, 1993), o da e, e y ew exis , and he sca ce scales ha a e a ailable ha e a numbe o limi a ions. Se e al scales oo na owly de ine gossip as a nega i e beha io and e en as an indi ec mode o agg ession. Examples a e he Di ec and Indi ec Agg ession Scale (DIAS) (Bjö kq is e al., 1992) and he Indi ec /Social/Rela ional Agg ession scale F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 2Feb ua y 2018 | Volume 9 | A icle 126 Rome a e al. Cybe gossip in Adolescence (ISRA) (Coyne e al., 2006). In hese examples gossip is equa ed wi h expanding umo s and measu ed using only one i em (commen ing badly abou o he s). O he ins umen s ha do de ine gossip mo e widely, including bo h he posi i e and he nega i e po en ial, ocus on speci ic aspec s, such as he con en o he message (Ne o e al., 1993) a i udes owa d gossip (Li man and Pezzo, 2005), mo i a ions behind gossip (Bee sma and Van Klee , 2012), and unc ions o gossip (Fos e , 2004), bu hey do no measu e he equency o he beha io i sel (B ady e al., 2017). A inal limi a ion o he la e g oup o scales is he lack o Eu opean and La in Ame ican samples used in hei alida ion. Below, se e al exis ing ins umen s a e desc ibed in a bi mo e de ail. The widely known Tendency Gossip Ques ionnai e (Ne o e al., 1993) was alida ed in a s udy wi h 120 Is aeli college s uden s. I consis s o a 7-poin equency scale o 19 i ems ha assess he con en o con e sa ions (physical appea ance, achie emen , social in o ma ion, and sublima ed gossip). This scale has been c i icized o ha ing oo ew i ems wi h which o measu e he wide con en a iabili y possible in gossip (Li man and Pezzo, 2005). The Gossip Func ions Ques ionnai e (Fos e , 2004) measu es ag eemen wi h 24 s a emen s ela ed o he ou basic unc ions ha gossip is said o ha e: in o ma ion p o ision, c ea ion o iendship, a ainmen o in luence, and en e ainmen . Mo e esea ch ocussing on hese unc ions has subsequen ly aken place wi h English speaking coun ies (USA, Canada, Aus alia, Uni ed Kingdom, I eland and New Zealand) (Wa son, 2011; Ha ung and Renne , 2013), bu bo h he o iginal scale and he subsequen wo k ail o conside ha gossip is subjec o he con ex in which i happens (Paine, 1967) and ha i is no a s a e ( ai ) o ap i ude. The Mo i es o Gossip Ques ionnai e (Bee sma and Van Klee , 2012), alida ed wi h uni e si y s uden s in he Ne he lands, does include con ex o some ex en : 22 s a emen s e e ing o speci ic beha io s and g ouped in ou dimensions (in o m, en e ain, in luence, and mee ing he no ms o he g oup) we e p esen ed o unde g adua e s uden s, and he easons o ge ing in ol ed in hei la es gossip expe ience we e assessed. The d awback o his ins umen is ha i only assesses he esponden s’ la es gossip e en and no he equency o he beha io . Ano he c i icism is ha i s in luence dimension is solely nega i e, being ela ed o indi ec agg ession. S i ling’s (1956) and Fos e ’s (2004) o iginal s udies ecognize he e can also be a posi i e side o he in luence dimension, which is ela ed o he lea ning o he g oup’s cul u e and no ms. B ady e al. (2017) ecen ly alida ed he Wo kplace Gossip scale wi h wo k-expe ienced Canadian s uden s, which does include he equency wi h which gossip is ca ied ou and he eby claim his s udy helps esol e he lack o gene ali y o he cons uc and he possible measu emen bias om which p e ious s udies su e ed. While his is indeed a good s ep o wa d, i s ocus on he wo k en i onmen , wi h i s speci ic issues and dimensions, mean i migh no be as ele an o o he con ex s. The scales discussed abo e ha e all been designed and alida ed o (young) adul s. Fo child en and adolescen s, gossip esea ch exis s mainly in he o m o na a i e and obse a ional s udies, and hese app oach gossip om he same na ow nega i e angle o indi ec ag ession aimed a damaging o he s (Xie e al., 2005) as some o he s udies ha ocus on adul s. Resul s om e olu i e s udies show ha as boys and gi ls g ow up, hey inc easinly demons a e indi ec agg essi e beha io s, such as gossip, o ic imize hei pee s (A che and Coyne, 2005). In e hnog aphic s udies, adolescen gi ls a e said o gossip mo e han boys wi h he aim o keep hei social s a us (Me en, 1997). This iew on he ela ionship be ween gende and gossip— unde s ood in i s malignan e sion—is con i med in a e iew by McAnd ew (2014). On he o he hand, me a-analyses on gende di e ences in indi ec agg ession, including gossip, do no ind a consis en ela ionship (A che , 2004; Ca d e al., 2008). Resea ch in o child en and adolescen s needs o adop he me hodological ad ances ha we e made in he s udy o gossip among adul s, and include i s posi i e po en ial o ansmi unde s anding o g oup no ms and see i as pa o he se o socially compe en beha io s (McDonald e al., 2007). I also needs o e lec he changes in in e ac ion and social ela ionships b ough abou by ICT (Lee e al., 2016). Examples o scales ha ha e ocussed on online beha io s among adolescen s and ha co e cybe gossip a e he Cybe -agg ession Ques ionnai e o Adolescen s (CYBA) (Ál a ez-Ga cía e al., 2016) and he Eu opean Cybe bullying In e en ion P ojec Ques ionnai e (ECIPQ) (Del Rey e al., 2015). Howe e , hese su e om he same limi a ion as some o he o -line gossip scales, in ha hey ea cybe gossip as a o m o cybe agg ession and do no include posi i e o ms o gossip. A ocus on gossip in i s wide sense is especially ele an in adolescence, because a his s age ela ionship s yles a e consolida ed. Iden i ying and desc ibing he beha io s ha cha ac e ize hese ela ionship s yles is o g ea esea ch in e es because hey p edic impo an aspec s o social and pe sonal unc ioning in adul hood (Pe y and Paule i, 2011). This a gumen is s eng hened by indings om Engelmann e al. (2016), who obse ed posi i e e ec s o gossip al eady in childhood. To p o ide in he need o a cybe gossip ins umen o child en he Cybe gossip Ques ionnai e-P ima y scale was designed and alida ed o schoolchild en aged 10–12 (López- P adas e al., 2017). I was designed o mee he abo emen ioned needs ela ing o measu emen , de ini ion and he ole o ICT. The ins umen includes nine ypes o beha io s co e ing he ou unc ions o gossip (in luence, en e ainmen , in o ma ion, and iendship). Valida ion showed he scale has he op imal psychome ic p ope ies o s udy cybe gossip among p ima y school child en, bu , o da e, no such scale exis s o adolescen s. The P esen S udy The i s objec i e o his s udy was o alida e he Cybe gossip Ques ionnai e-P ima y scale (López-P adas e al., 2017) o use among adolescen s as well. A sepa a e cybe bullying scale was used o analyse he disc iminan alida ion o he cybe gossip scale. The s udy used samples om wo coun ies in di e en egions, Spain and Colombia, ha ha e cul u al simila i ies, a sha ed his o y and language. This ies i in o he cu en end o ca ying ou c oss-cul u al compa a i e s udies, bu F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 3Feb ua y 2018 | Volume 9 | A icle 126 Rome a e al. Cybe gossip in Adolescence adds di e si y as, o da e, hese compa isons ha e mos commonly aken place be ween Eu opean coun ies o be ween he Uni ed S a es and di e en Asian coun ies (Rome a e al., 2017). The second objec i e was o measu e he equency o adolescen s’ use o cybe gossip, and o analyze he possible di e ences by coun y o o igin and gende . This alida ed scale will allow u u e esea ch o gain u he insigh s in o de no ms, alues, con en ions and beha io s o his age g oup when using ICT (Rome a e al., 2016). Ou hypo heses we e: (1) he ins umen will show a one- ac o s uc u e wi h op imal psychome ic p ope ies, homogenei y o measu e ac oss gende and coun y and will ha e a low associa ion wi h cybe bullying; (2) Colombian adolescen s will be less in ol ed in cybe gossip, due o hei lowe use o ICT (Said-Hung, 2014); and (3) he e will be no gende di e ences in he equency o cybe gossip (Ca d e al., 2008). MATERIALS AND METHODS Pa icipan s The o e all sample comp ised 3,747 adolescen s (48.5% boys) aged 10 o 19 (M=13.98; SD =1.69). The Colombian subsample comp ised 1,931 s uden s (46.9% boys), aged 10–19 (M=14.22; SD =1.89), and he Spanish subsample comp ised 1,816 s uden s (50.2% boys) aged 12–19 (M=13.69; SD =1.35). The s udy used a con enience sample based on accessibili y. Ins umen s Cybe gossip Ques ionnai e-Adolescen s (CGQ-A) To measu e cybe gossip in adolescen s, he GCQ-P scale designed o p ima y school child en was used unchanged (López-P adas e al., 2017). The ins umen , which comp ises nine i ems, is based a ound he ou main unc ions o gossip: o in o m (“Le cuen o a mis amigos po las Redes Sociales o Wha sApp las cosas que me en e o que les pasan a o os”—“I use social ne wo ks o Wha sApp o sha e s o ies I hea abou o he s wi h my iends”); o in luence (“He hablado sob e un compañe o o amigo po las Redes Sociales o Wha sApp pa a que el g upo cambie su opinión sob e él”—“I ha e old hings abou a classma e o iend on social ne wo ks o Wha sApp o make he g oup change hei opinion abou him/he ”); o c ea e iendship (“Hablo sob e los demás en las edes sociales o Wha sApp po que me hace sen i más ce ca de mi g upo de amigos o amigas”— “I alk abou o he s on social ne wo ks o Wha sApp because i makes me eel close o my g oup o iends”); and o en e ain onesel (“Hablo con mi g upo de amigos de las Redes Sociales o Wha sApp sob e lo que les pasa a o os compañe os del colegio pa a di e i me”—“I alk wi h my iends on social ne wo ks o Wha sApp abou wha ’s going on wi h o he classma es o un”). Each o he nine i ems has a equency Like scale wi h he ollowing alues: 0 =“nunca”—ne e ; 1 =“casi nunca”—ha dly e e ; 2 =“no malmen e”—a e agely; 3 =“casi siemp e”—almos always; and 4 =“siemp e”—always. The in e nal consis ency o he one-dimensional scale was op imal (CGQ−P=0.83) when o iginally alida ed o 10–12 yea olds. The ques ionnai e in Spanish is included in Appendix A in Supplemen a y Ma e ial. Eu opean Cybe bullying In e en ion P ojec Ques ionnai e (ECIPQ) (Del Rey e al., 2015) This ins umen had p e iously been alida ed o bo h Colombia (He e a-López e al., 2017) and Spain (O ega-Ruiz e al., 2016). I is composed o 22 Like - ype i ems (11 o cybe ic imiza ion and 11 o cybe agg ession) wi h i e answe op ions om 0 o 4: 0 =ne e ; 1 =once o wice; 2 =once o wice a mon h; 3 =a ound once a week; 4 =mo e han once a week. Examples o he i ems a e: “Alguien me ha dicho insul os o g ose ías po in e ne ”—someone has insul ed me ia in e ne ; “He colgado ídeos o o os comp eme edo as de alguien en in e ne ”—I ha e pos ed comp omising ideos o pho os o someone on he in e ne . The in e nal consis ency when alida ed o iginally was op imal: αcybe ic imiza ion =0.84, αcybe agg ession =0.81, α o al =0.87. P ocedu e The esea ch had a ans e sal, es ospec i e, ex pos ac o design, wi h one g oup and mul iple measu es (Mon e o and León, 2007). The s udy was app o ed by he Comi é Coodinado de É ica de la In es igación Biomédica de Andalucía (Coo dina ing E hics Commi ee o Biomedical Resea ch o Andalusia) and was in acco dance wi h all egula ions conce ning p o esional e hics as s a ed in he In e na ional Con e ence on Ha moniza ion Good Clinical P ac ice Guideline. The s udy was app o ed by he Spanish school boa ds and he Colombian schools’ managemen , and w i en pa en al consen was ob ained. In bo h coun ies, he s uden s we e isi ed and he anonymous, con iden ial and olun a y na u e and he objec i e o he s udy we e explained be o e he su ey was aken. The au ho s we e esponsible o he da a collec ion. S uden s had 20 min o ill in he ques ionnai e. The esea che s we e p esen du ing his ime o answe any ques ions. S a is ical Analysis Ma dia’s coe icien was calcula ed o assess he mul i a ia e no mali y o he da ase using he p og am “R” (R De elopmen Co e Team, 2008) and package “MVN” (Ko maz e al., 2015). The psychome ic p ope ies o he CGQ-A scale we e e i ied h ough i em esponse heo y (IRT) analysis, calcula ing a h ee- pa ame e model (3PL) i ed o poly omous scales (Mu aki, 1990). This app oach gi es alues o each i em on he pa ame e s disc ima ion (a), di icul y (b) and p obabili y o success o ailu e (c). This analysis was ca ied ou using “eRm; colospace and mi ” lib a ies ( e sion 3.3.2) in “R” (R De elopmen Co e Team, 2008). To assess cons uc alidi y, con i ma o y ac o ial analyses (CFA) we e ca ied ou using he EQS 6.2 p og am (Ben le and Wu, 2012). The maximum likelihood es ima ion me hod (MLE), obus scaling (B yan and Sa o a, 2012), and polycho ic co ela ions (Mo a a-Ramí ez and Holgado-Tello, 2013) we e used, which is he ecommended app oach o ca ego ical a iables and unde he absence o mul i a ia e no mali y. The i o he models was es ed wi h he ollowing indexes: Sa o a- Ben le scaled chi squa e (χ2 S−B) (Sa o a and Ben le , 2001); he compa a i e i index (CFI) and he non-no mali y i index (NNFI) (≥0.90 is adequa e; ≥0.95 is op imal); he oo mean F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 4Feb ua y 2018 | Volume 9 | A icle 126 Rome a e al. Cybe gossip in Adolescence squa e e o o app oxima ion (RMSEA) and he oo mean squa e esidual (SRMR) (≤0.08 is adequa e; ≤0.05 is op imal) (Hu and Ben le , 1999). The Akaike in o ma ion c i e ion (AIC) was used o compa e he ob ained models, whe e he bes model has he lowes alue. The gene aliza ion o he model, ha is, he deg ee o obus ness o he ac o ial s uc u e o in a iance, was es ed h ough mul i-g oup analysis, wi h coun y and gende as analysis c i e ia. This analysis consis s o compa ing a se o inc easingly es ic i e models. In Model 1, con igu al in a iance was es ed by imposing he same ac o ial s uc u e on bo h subsamples, and checking whe he he i indexes o he combined model indica ed good model i . Subsequen ly, in Model 2 he ac o ial loads we e es ic ed and he i indexes o Models 1 and 2 we e compa ed. Changes (1) be ween he models o NNFI, CFI, RMSEA, and SRMR ≤ 0.01 we e accep ed as e idence o measu emen in a iance (Dimi o , 2010). As a u he es o in a iance, he chi squa e di e ence es (1χ2 S−B) was used, whe e non-signi ican di e ences demons a e in a iance in he models (Bollen, 1989; Sa o a and Ben le , 2010). The mul i-g oup analysis was ca ied ou in EQS 6.2 (Ben le and Wu, 2012). The disc iminan alidi y was es ed h ough Spea man’s Rho co ela ions be ween he CGQ-A scale and he ECIPQ dimensions (cybe ic imiza ion and cybe agg ession). In e nal consis ency was analyzed wi h McDonald’s Omega index (), ecommended o ca ego ical a iables unde he absence o mul i a ia e no mali y (Elousa-Oliden and Zumbo, 2008). Fo his we used he 9.2 Fac o p og am (Lo enzo- Se a and Fe ando, 2006). The composi e eliabili y (CR) was de e mined o es gene al eliabili y o he se o i ems, and we looked a he a e age a iance ex ac ed (AVE) o es he accu acy wi h which he cons uc is measu ed. The used cu -o alues we e 0.70 o CR and 0.50 o AVE (Hai e al., 2005). The le el o in ol emen in cybe gossip was calcula ed by aking he a e age o he nine i ems. The adop ed s a is ical signi icance le el was 0.05. RESULTS Psychome ic P ope ies o he Cybe gossip Ques ionnai e o Adolescen s (CGQ-A) Ma dia’s analysis gene a ed a coe icien o skewness o 63.027; p>0.05 and a coe icien o ku osis o 279.537; p>0.05, indica ing he da a ail o mee he assump ion o mul i a ia e no mali y. The 3PL (IRT) analysis p o ided disc imina ion alues abo e 1, which a e conside ed good alues; he di icul y deg ee o he i ems anged om 0.05 o 1.60, which is accep able (accep able alues ange om −3 o 3); and he p obabili y o ailu e alues we e low, indica i e o high quali y i ems (Bake , 1992) (see Table 1). The in e -i em co ela ion analysis showed alues in he uppe -middle ange. The co ela ions be ween he CGQ-A scale and he ECIPQ cybe agg ession and cybe ic imiza ion dimensions we e in he medium ange, sugges ing a low collinea i y and disc iminan alidi y be ween he ins umen s (see Tables 2,3). The CFA o he one-dimension s uc u e o he CGQ-A scale showed an adequa e i : χ2 S−B=286.581; d =27; p<0.001; NNFI =0.979; CFI =0.984; RMSEA =0.055 (90% CI [0.050, 0.061]); SRMR =0.048; AIC =232.581 (see Figu e 1). The ob ained alue o he in e nal consis ency was wi hin he op imal ange (CGQ−A=0.839). The alues o he CR and AVE indexes we e also ound wi hin he op imal ange: CR =0.904; AVE =0.513, o e 0.70 y 0.50, espec i ely (Hai e al., 2005). The esul s o he mul i-g oup analysis indica ed p oo o con igu al and measu emen in a iance o bo h he coun y and gende es s. Fo bo h a iables, he chi-squa e di e ences (χ2 S−B) be ween Models 1 and 2 we e non-signi ican and he del as (1) o he CFI, NNFI, RMSEA and SRMR indexes in all compa isons we e below he 0.01 cu -o poin (see Table 4). Occu ence o Cybe gossip among Adolescen s The adolescen pa icipan s in he s udy had an o e all cybe gossip in ol emen le el o 1.36 (SD =0.49). Cybe gossip occu ed mo e o en among he Spanish pa icipan s (M=1.57; SD =0.59) han he Colombian ones (M=1.24; SD =0.37) ( =17.48; p>0.001). As also hypo hesized, no di e ences we e ound be ween gi ls and boys ( =1.75; p=0.08; M=1.35; SD =0.47 s. M=1.38; SD =0.53, espec i ely). DISCUSSION The objec i e o he s udy was o alida e he CGQ-P scale (López-P adas e al., 2017) o Spanish and Colombian adolescen s (a e wa ds called Cybe gossip Ques ionnai e- Adolescen s, CGQ-A). The esul s con i med he o iginal one-dimensional s uc u e wi h op imal indexes o i and in e nal consis ency. The esul s o he disc iminan alidi y analysis showed ha he CGQ-A scale measu es a di e en concep han he cybe agg ession and cybe ic imiza ion dimensions o he ECIPQ scale, al hough hey a e ela ed. These esul s unde line he p oblem o a na ow concep ualiza ion o gossip as malicious beha io , and suppo aking a wide pe spec i e ha encompasses posi i e aspec s o social lea ning (We and Salo ey, 2004; Bee sma and Van Klee , 2012). The mul i-g oup analysis p o ed con igu al and measu emen in a iance be ween Colombia and Spain and be ween boys and gi ls, indica ing he scale has a obus ac o ial s uc u e ac oss coun ies and gende . Pu in ano he way, i means he di e en i ems con ibu e simila ly o he o e all ac o o gi ls and boys, o Columbians and Spanish. The in a iance he e o e demons a es ha Colombian and Spanish adolescen s concep ualize cybe gossip in simila ways when hey espond o he CGQ-A scale. This indica es simila dynamics in bo h coun ies, despi e he cul u al, socioeconomic and geog aphical di e ences (Rome a e al., 2017). Al hough gossip has been widely iden i ied as a uni e sal beha io (Dunba , 2004), his F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 5Feb ua y 2018 | Volume 9 | A icle 126 Rome a e al. Cybe gossip in Adolescence TABLE 1 | Mean, s anda d de ia ion, skewness, ku osis, and 3PL analysis (IRT). I ems (CGQ-A) M SD Skew Ku a b c CG 1 I ha e made commen s abou o he iends o classma es o ge in o a g oup on social ne wo ks o Wha sApp. 1.19 0.55 3.81 17.87 2.03 1.61 0.02 CG 2 I alk abou o he s on social ne wo ks o Wha sApp because i makes me eel close o my g oup o iends 1.41 0.83 2.43 6.20 1.89 1.00 0.04 CG 3 I ha e old hings abou a classma e o iend on social ne wo ks o Wha sApp o make he g oup change hei opinion abou him/ he 1.45 0.83 2.10 4.50 1.92 1.00 0.08 CG 4 When I’m ang y wi h a classma e o iend, I alk abou i on social ne wo ks o Wha sApp 1.39 0.78 2.36 5.80 1.73 0.97 0.00 CG 5 I ha e said nega i e hings abou ano he pe son on social ne wo ks o Wha sApp wi hou ealizing i 1.40 0.74 2.24 5.72 1.99 0.76 0.00 CG 6 I ha e sha ed a classma e’s sec e wi h o he s on social ne wo ks o Wha sApp 1.29 0.68 2.90 9.58 1.76 1.19 0.00 CG 7 I use social ne wo ks o Wha sApp o sha e s o ies I hea abou o he s wi h my iends 1.56 0.94 1.86 3.13 2.19 0.52 0.00 CG 8 When somebody in my g oup does some hing bad, I ell he es o my classma es ia social ne wo ks o Wha sApp so hey know abou i 1.33 0.71 2.61 7.67 2.23 0.99 0.02 CG 9 I alk wi h my iends on social ne wo ks o Wha sApp abou wha ’s going on wi h o he classma es o un 1.32 0.71 2.77 8.65 1.95 1.03 0.00 a, disc imina ion; b, di icul y; c, p obabili y o ailu e ( andom). TABLE 2 | Ma ix o CGQ-A polycho ic co ela ions. I em 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 1 2 0.61 1 3 0.54 0.52 1 4 0.43 0.43 0.43 1 5 0.46 0.47 0.45 0.63 1 6 0.48 0.41 0.43 0.53 0.59 1 7 0.46 0.43 0.53 0.58 0.59 0.61 1 8 0.48 0.49 0.50 0.52 0.56 0.54 0.59 1 9 0.49 0.49 0.43 0.49 0.56 0.53 0.58 0.59 1 All co ela ions we e signi ica i e, p <0.01. TABLE 3 | Spea man’s Rho co ela ions be ween ECIPQ and CGQ-A. Fac o n (3,747) 1. 2. 3. Skew. Ku . M D.T. 1. Cybe agg ession 1.12 0.26 – 5.13 41.75 2. Cybe ic imiza ion 1.22 0.35 0.49** – 3.85 23.06 3. Cybe gossip 1.37 0.50 0.44** 0.30** – 2.36 7.94 **p<0.01. s udy is he i s o analyze his in Spanish and Colombian samples, and o show ha , also among adolescen s and when ca ied ou ia ICT, gossip has a c oss-cul u al na u e. The in a iance esul s also demons a ed a sha ed concep ualiza ion be ween boys and gi ls. This con adic s some ea lie esea ch ha classi ied gossip as a o m o indi ec agg ession, and ound ha gi ls, o a g ea e ex en han boys, see gossip as a o m o agg ession (A che and Coyne, 2005). Ou esul s a e in line wi h esea ch on gossip in a wide sense, which shows i is a beha io well- ecognized and iden i ied wi h by no only gi ls bu also boys (Ku le e al., 2002). The second objec i e o he esea ch was o measu e how equenc ly adolescen s engage in cybe gossip, and o in es iga e di e ences by coun y and gende . The desc ip i e esul s indica e ha hey enage in his cybe beha io qui e equen ly. Resul s con i med ou second hypo hesis ha Colombian adolescen s would be less in ol ed in cybe gossip han Spanish ones. This could e lec he lowe use o ICT in Colombia (Said-Hung, 2014), bu could also be due o di e ences in cul u e. Spanish cul u e is cha ac e ized by a g ea e p omo ion o indi idualis alues when i comes o social image and ecogni ion and accep ance wi hin he g oup (Ta a odi and Swann, 1996), which would be in line wi h g ea e in ol emen in his in e ac i e phenomenon. On he o he hand, La in Ame ican cul u e is mo e es ic i e, has a highe espec o ules, and app o al and obedience a e alued mo e (Lila e al., 2000), which could explain a lowe in ol emen in beha io s ha a e commonly seen as nega i e. No di e ences we e ound in he equency wi h which boys and gi ls pa icipa e in cybe gossip, which con i ms he hi d hypo hesis. This, oge he wi h he esul s on measu emen in a iance by gende , suppo s he idea ha boys and gi ls engage in gossip in simila ways. P e ious de elopmen al s udies ha e shown a highe in ol emen o gi ls, which hey a ibu ed o adolescen gi ls spending mo e ime on social ac i i ies, and ha ing a ela ionship s yle cha ac e ized by a desi e o p oximi y and an anxie y abou ejec ion (Pe y and Paule i, 2011). In he li e a u e on indi ec agg ession gi ls ha e also been seen o gossip mo e (A che and Coyne, 2005), and his ela ionship be ween gossip and gende was ound in s udies on adul s as well (Ne o e al., 1993). Ne e heless, ou esul s a e in line wi h he majo i y o con ibu ions in his ield, ega dless o whe he s udies wi h a wide de ini ion (Fos e , 2004) o a na ow one (Ku le e al., 2002; Ca d e al., 2008) a e conside ed. This leads F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 6Feb ua y 2018 | Volume 9 | A icle 126 Rome a e al. Cybe gossip in Adolescence FIGURE 1 | CFA o he CGQ-A scale (*p<0.05). TABLE 4 | Mul i-g oup analysis o he CGQ-A scale pe coun y and gende . C i e ion Mod χ2 S-B d p NNFI CFI RMSEA SRMR 1χ2 S-B 1p1d 1NNFI 1CFI 1RMSEA 1SRMR Coun y Mod 1 287.072 54 0.000 0.966 0.975 0.053 0.061 Mod 2 276.523 62 0.000 0.973 0.977 0.047 0.061 10.549 0.534 (n.s.) 8 0.007 0.002 0.006 0.000 Gende Mod 1 306.722 54 0.000 0.980 0.985 0.055 0.049 Mod 2 317.516 62 0.000 0.982 0.985 0.051 0.050 10.794 0.793 (n.s.) 8 0.002 0.000 0.004 0.001 Mod 1, model wi hou es ic ions; Mod 2, model es ic ed on ac o weigh s; n.s., non-signi ican . o he ques ion why he e is a alse s e eo yped iew ha gi ls a e bigge gossipe s han boys (in bo h he na ow and wide sense o he concep ). Some s udies a ibu e his associa ion o gende schemas, buil since childhood, which de e mine he p ocessing o social in o ma ion (Ca d e al., 2008). Ano he conclusion om hese esul s should be ha i is essen ial o include boys in he s udy on gossip and cybe gossip, unlike se e al s udies in he pas ha used only emale subjec s (McDonald e al., 2007; Massa e al., 2012). CONCLUSIONS The p esen s udy has made an impo an con ibu ion o his ield o esea ch by p o iding i wi h a alid and eliable ins umen wi h which o measu e cybe gossip beha io . The CGQ-A scale’s op imal psychome ic p ope ies and gene al alidi y allow i s use in compa a i e s udies o desc ip i e and explana o y na u e. Wi hou downplaying he possible ha m ul e ec s o gossip, his pape a gues ha cybe gossip does no ha e o be unde s ood as a cybe beha io which mus be e adica ed o educed in all si ua ions. This esea ch ecognizes and has con i med he ela ionship be ween cybe gossip and cybe bullying, bu i also suppo s a ocus on posi i e cybe gossip in psychoeduca ional in e en ions ha p omo e he lea ning o new me hods o in e ac ion and he de elopmen o communica ion and digi al skills o build posi i e i ual ela ionships and p e en isky cybe beha io s. Limi a ions A numbe o limi a ions o his s udy mus be men ioned. No explici es s o con e gen alidi y ha e been included. These F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 7Feb ua y 2018 | Volume 9 | A icle 126 Rome a e al. Cybe gossip in Adolescence we e omi ed as his s udy’s pa icula aim was o obse e i s di e gen alidi y, which is why we ocussed on he co ela ion be ween he concep s. Ano he po en ial limi a ion is ha no es - e es measu es ha e been employed o con i m he eliabili y o he esul s, al hough di e en samples ha e been used and he op imal psychome ic p ope ies o he CGQ-A scale ha e been es ablished. Fu u e Resea ch I is necessa y o con inue ad ancing ou unde s anding o gossip, especially o i s e ec on g oup cha ac e is ics, ollowing ecen e olu iona y s udies ha highligh he in luence o social ne wo king on social beha io (Wu e al., 2016). The ole o gende in cybe gossip also equi es u he a en ion, o example wi h espec o he possible nuances ha ela ional a iables such as iendship may in oduce (Wa son, 2012). Ano he in e es ing di ec ion o esea ch would be o ollow up on he indings by A eepa amannil and Khine (2017) ha pe sonal (a ailabili y, abili y, habi , uses) and mo i a ional (sel -e icacy, in e es , enjoymen ) ac o s co ela e wi h he use o ICT o gossip. I is also necessa y o gene a e new esea ch o a de elopmen al na u e o be e unde s and wha is behind di e ences in in ol emen in gossip and cybe gossip. ETHICS STATEMENT The s udy was app o ed by he Comi é Coodinado de É ica de la In es igación Biomédica de Andalucía (Coo dina ing E hics Commi ee o Biomedical Resea ch o Andalusia) and was in acco dance wi h all egula ions conce ning p o essional e hics as s a ed in he In e na ional Con e ence on Ha moniza ion Good Clinical P ac ice Guideline. The s udy was app o ed by he Spanish school boa ds and he Colombian schools’ managemen , and w i en pa en al consen was ob ained. In bo h coun ies, he s uden s we e isi ed and he anonymous, con iden ial and olun a y na u e and he objec i e o he s udy we e explained be o e he su ey was aken. AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS All au ho s con ibu ed o he in e p e a ion o da a, helped o d a , and e ise he manusc ip and ha e ead and app o ed he inal manusc ip . FUNDING ER, JC, RO-R, and RDR we e suppo ed by p ojec s EDU2013- 44627-P (I+D, Spain) and PSI2016-74871-R (I+D+i, Spain). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To he schools and adolescen s who pa icipa ed in his s udy. To SR and TG who helped o collec he da a. SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL The Supplemen a y Ma e ial o his a icle can be ound online a : h ps://www. on ie sin.o g/a icles/10.3389/ psyg. 2018.00126/ ull#supplemen a y-ma e ial REFERENCES Alexand o , A., Lilly, B., and Babakus, E. (2013). The e ec s o social-and sel - mo i es on he in en ions o sha e posi i e and nega i e wo d o mou h. J. Acad. Ma ke . 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