cross-cultural adaptation (Research Paper Sample)

Psychometric Properties of an Arabic version of the Social Connectedness and Social Assurance Scales Hatim Ben ayad1 1UAE/U24FS, FS, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tetouan, Morocco Authors’ notes Hatim Ben Ayad, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0881-6488, Mail: hatim.benayad@etu.uae.ac.ma Corresponding author: Ben Ayad Hatim E-mail: hatim.benayad@etu.uae.ac.ma Funding: This study received no funding. Acknowledgments: Special thanks to Ben Ayad Lamiae who was a big help. Length: 4771 words Abstract Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of an Arabic version of the Social Connectedness and Social Assurance Scales (SCSAS) that assess belongingness. Method: A sample of college students (N = 1150; mean age = 20.00 ± 2.60 years; 444 males, 703 females, three of unreported gender) were asked to fill a set of questionnaires to evaluate the factorial structure, the internal consistency, the temporal stability, and the discriminant validity of the SCSAS. Result: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good fit of the two-factor model suggested for the SCSAS (CFI = .959, TLI = .934, and RMSEA = .060). In addition, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis revealed measurement invariance with regard to gender (ΔRMSEA = .002 and ΔCFI =.000). Moreover, the internal consistency and the temporal stability of the SCSAS were acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha = .77, Intraclass correlations = .90, respectively). Last, discriminant validity of the SCSAS was supported after it showed negative association with depression (r = -.35, P < .001) and anxiety (r = -.25 P < .001). Conclusion: The Arabic version of the SCSAS preserved the original two-factor model, revealed measurement invariance with regard to gender, and showed an acceptable internal consistency and good temporal stability. Therefore, the Arabic version of the SCSAS is a reliable instrument to evaluate belongingness among Moroccan college students. Keywords: Social Connectedness and Social Assurance Scales, SCSAS, Moroccan college students, psychometric properties. Psychometric Properties of an Arabic version of the Social Connectedness and Social Assurance Scales It is well documented that the sense of belongingness is highly associated with positive mental health stat, the general psychological distress, and mental illness (Anant, 1967; Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Choenarom, 2005; Cockshaw et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2001; Loukas et al., 2009; Moeller et al., 2020; Shochet et al., 2006; Vaz et al., 2014). Scholars report that the sense of belongingness can be generated from positive social relationships and positive social support (Anant, 1967; Cockshaw et al., 2013; Diener, 1984; Diener, 2002; McBeath et al., 2018; Ryff ,1989; Ryff & Heidrich, 1997; Vaz et al., 2014). High level of social support alongside positive interactions manage to promote the sense of belongingness (Lambert et al., 2013). In addition, belongingness is associated with other variables such as family attachment (Chen, 2003), loneliness and social exclusion (Arslan, 2021), stigma (Gamwell et al., 2018), socioeconomic situation (Ahmadi et., 2020; Tinajero et al., 2015), and sleep quality (John-Henderson et al., 2019). Furthermore, the need to belong can play a protecting role of individuals’ general well-being. A study conducted by Stanley et al. (2019) suggested that the satisfaction of the need to belong can actually protect from developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among firefighters. Moreover, it was suggested that the promotion of social ties have positive effect on health; physical and mental health. In addition, it was stated that interventions that aim to strengthen social ties in USA leads to the enhancement of health of the targeted people and the people connected to them (Umberson & Karas Montez, 2010). Belongingness is defined as the integration of a person in society to a level where he or she considers himself or herself an indispensable and integral part of the social system (Anant, 1966; Anant, 1967). One of the considerable works on belongingness is the work of Lee & Robbins (1995) that suggested a three-dimensional structure for belongingness. First, companionship that is the sense of security and likeness that develops in childhood from relatives and helps to build self-esteem. Second, affiliation that is to feel linked with the other(s); it develops during the transition phase from childhood to adolescence and helps to support self-esteem. Last, connectedness that is the capacity to form a satisfying large social network beyond family and friends without feeling affected in self-esteem (Lee & Robbins, 1995). Among the self-reported instruments that evaluate belongingness. First, the General Belongingness Scale (GBS) (Malone et al., 2012) that aims to measure the achieved belongingness and focuses on the aspect of social connectedness alone. Second, the Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale (PSSM) (Goodenow, 1993) that aims to measure a specified need to belong in school context. Last, the Social Connectedness and the Social assurance scale (SCSAS) (Lee & Robbins, 1995) where belongingness is evaluated using a scale formed from two parts; social connectedness and social assurance, which provide a more precise assessment of belongingness. The first part of the overall scale corresponds to social connectedness that is the personal feeling of having a close interpersonal relationship with the social world, and it is based on the sum of recent and past relationships-related experiences in life (Lee & Robbins, 1998; Lee & Robbins, 2000). Whereas, the second part of the overall scale corresponds to social assurance that is defined as the mount of depending on others to maintain a sense of belongingness (Lee & Robbins, 1995; Lee-Won et al., 2015). Study aims Due to the promising role that the need to belong may play in mental health promotion strategies, and in order to lead the way for future mental health-related studies in Morocco, this study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of an Arabic version of the SCSAS on a Moroccan sample of college students. Method and subjects Participants and procedure The sample of this cross-sectional study was composed of college students of Abdelmalek Essâadi University. This sample was chosen because of the easy access to this population, and the organization and efficacity of data collection process. The college students represented four cities of a northern province of Morocco, including eight institutions. Each institution received a permission request that was approved before collecting the data. The sample strategy used for this study was stratified cluster sampling. At first, the sampling was based on three levels: 1) the city, 2) the type of institution [open access (institutions with unlimited number of seats) vs. regulated access (institutions with limited number of seats)], and 3) study level (i.e., undergraduate students of the first year, undergraduate students of the second year, and undergraduate and graduate students of the last year). For each institution, we defined a two-stage cluster in which the precise sample size was randomly selected as a function of the institution’s number of students. The numbers of the total samples and the subsamples from each institution were calculated using Epi-Info 7 software’s Stat Calc application, with the following parameters: the source population (100 828 students of Abdelmalek Essaâdi university), maximum tolerated error margin fixed at 3%, stratified cluster sampling method, 9 layers, and expected frequency of the parameter to be estimated fixed at 50% by caution (max size with 50%). Approximately, 1060 students must be included in this study. This figure is increased by 10% to anticipate refusal and non-response. The final size is n = 1200 students. Of 1200 graduate and undergraduate students asked to participate in the study, only 1150 returned the questionnaires. Most of the participants were females (n =703, 61.1%), and 444 of the participants (38.6%) were males. The mean age of the participants was 20.00 (SD = 2.6) years (range: 17 to 49 years). Most of the participants were single (n = 1021, 88.8%), 94 (8.2%) were in relationships, 13 (1.1%) were no longer in a relationship, and 22 (1.9%) participants did not answer the question about their marital status. For test-retest reliability, an additional sample of 26 graduate or undergraduate students was randomly selected from an institution to complete the study twice over a two-week period. This additional sample was composed of 10 men and 16 women (mean age = 21.02 years, SD = 1.44 years). Instruments The Social Connectedness and Social Assurance Scales (SCSAS) aim to assess belongingness. Each part of the scale is formed from eight items rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 6 (strongly disagree). The Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) is constructed from three aspects of belongingness; connectedness with four items (1, 3, 5, and 6), affiliation with three items (4, 7, and 8), and companionship with one item (2). The Social Assurance Scale (SAS) is constructed from two aspects of belongingness; companionship with four items (1, 4, 6, and 8), and affiliation with four items (2, 3, 5, and 7). An overall summed score represents the reported sense of belongingness (Lee & Robbins, 1995). However, only one study was found that used the SCSAS (Gaudier-Diaz et al., 2019). In addition, only the social Connectedness scale part of the SCSAS was adapted in Turkey (Duru, 2007) and showed excellent internal consistency (Satici et al., 2016). Besides the SCSAS, a Moroccan version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) was administered to evaluate construct validity of the Arabic version of the SCSAS. The brief Symptom Inventory is a self-reported instrument that assesses the psychologic...