Development of the Social Interest Scale for Turkish Adolescents

Abstract

Despite the existence of numerous scales and questionnaires that measure social interest, no such instrument has been developed specifically to measure social interest in Turkish adolescents. To that end, this study is designed to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure social interest in Turkish adolescents. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to determine the construct validity of the Social Interest Scale for Adolescents. As a result of the confirmatory factor analysis of the final 21-item scale, a four-factor structure was revealed. Each of these factors referred to a critical Adlerian construct related to social interest: belonging, sensitivity, coping, and helping. In line with these results, it is possible to indicate that the scale is a valid and reliable instrument in measuring the social interest levels of Turkish adolescents.