Development of a diagnostic methodology for assessing the motivation for vandalism in adolescents and young adults

Abstract

The article discusses vandalism and argues for a deeper understanding of psychological motives that drive such behavior. The study reports on the shortcomings of existing psychodiagnostic methods and aims to provide psychometric validation and refinement of the Motivation for Vandalism questionnaire for a sample of adolescents and young adults. The study is an attempt to adapt the methodology to current needs and conditions in view of the dynamic transformation of social and technological environment. During the initial stage of refining the toolkit, the experts evaluated the existing stimulus material and revised several outdated questions. A pilot test of the revised version was conducted in July–August 2023 on a sample of 53 students from general education institutions (34 females and 19 males, average age 13.58 years) using an online survey based on Yandex.Forms. The survey results were processed using the methods of mathematical and statistical analysis. The reliability of the scales was assessed by calculating the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. High values of the coefficient (0.977) indicate the consistency of the scales in the refined toolkit and suggest its reliability. Therefore, the revised questionnaire can be used to diagnose the psychological determinants of vandalism in modern students. This will create necessary conditions for optimizing psychological prevention and remediation. This research was conducted as part of the state-commissioned assignment of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the topic Scientific and Methodological Support of the Program for the Prevention of School Vandalism.