Replication and validation of the Multidimentional Teacher Victimization Scale (MTVS): Evidence from the United States

Abstract

In response to the need for reliable and validated measurement tools to assess teachers' risks of victimization from student aggression and violence across diverse educational settings and to fill gaps in measurement replication research, this pre-registered study replicated the Multidimensional Teacher Victimization Scale (MTVS) in a demographically and geographically diverse U.S. K–12 teacher sample ( N = 504) to examine its applicability and validity in the U.S. context. The study aimed to explore the dimensionality of teacher-targeted victimization and measurement invariance across race, gender, and grade level, as well as its correlation with teacher burnout and psychological distress. The findings revealed that a five-factor correlated model of victimization (physical, verbal, relational, cyber, and property offenses) best fit the U.S. data, suggesting that the original six-factor structure may not fully capture the complexity of teacher victimization in the U.S. context. Notably, the sexual harassment factor did not emerge as a distinct sub-dimension. Strict measurement invariance was achieved across White and non-White teacher groups with no significant latent mean differences. Strong measurement invariance was achieved across genders (male vs. female) and grade levels (elementary and middle combined vs. high schools), with latent mean differences indicating that male teachers reported more frequent social/relational victimization, and elementary and middle school teachers reported more frequent physical victimization than high school teachers. Correlational analyses revealed that social/relational victimization was most strongly associated with teacher burnout and psychological distress, aligning with previous studies on the emotional toll of teacher victimization. Implications for adapting MTVS across diverse school contexts and teacher populations are discussed.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of School Psychology, 2026 · DOI ↗