Exploring the Participant Role Questionnaire Adapted as a Self-Report Survey for Use with Key Stage 2 Pupils Across the UK

Abstract

This thesis examined how primary-aged children in the United Kingdom understand and report their roles in bullying situations, with a focus on validating self-report methods and linking role profiles to behavioural adjustment. The work was conducted within the Stand Together trial, a large cluster-randomised controlled evaluation of the KiVa anti- bullying programme and centred on adapting the Participant Role Questionnaire (PRQ) for
use with Key Stage 2 pupils. Bullying is widely recognised as a group process in which bystanders play a critical role. However, most research has relied on peer or teacher reports, raising concerns about validity and overlooking children’s own perspectives. This project addressed that gap by evaluating whether primary-aged pupils can provide reliable self-reports of bullying involvement and by applying latent class analysis (LCA) to explore patterns of role engagement. Findings showed that the adapted PRQ demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, a supported factor structure, and test–retest stability, indicating that children can meaningfully reflect on their own behaviours. LCA identified five behavioural profiles at baseline, Broad Involvement, Active Defenders, Occasional Defenders, Followers/Outsiders, and Uninvolved, and a similar five-class solution at follow-up, where an Aggressor class replaced Active Defenders. These profiles were externally validated through teacher-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) outcomes: Aggressors and Broad Involvement pupils showed elevated difficulties, Defenders scored highest in prosocial behaviour, and Uninvolved pupils scored lowest across domains. The research makes three contributions: it validates the PRQ as a self-report tool for UK pupils, demonstrates the utility of LCA in capturing heterogeneous bullying roles, and shows their correspondence with behavioural outcomes, advancing both theory and practice.

Date of Award	22 Jun 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Bangor University
Sponsors	Kess II East
Supervisor	Suzy Clarkson (Supervisor), Margiad Williams (Supervisor) & Judy Hutchings (Supervisor)