Factor Structure, Measurement Invariance, Criterion Validity, and Reliability of the School Kindness Scale: Turkish Middle School Sample

Abstract

The aim of the study is to adapt the School Kindness Scale (SKS) to Turkish, and to examine its psychometric properties. For this purpose, two separate samples were used. Totally, 611 middle school students (302 boys, corresponding to 49.43% and 309 girls, corresponding to 50.57%) participated in the Study 1, and 759 middle school students (369 boys, corresponding to 48.62% and 390 girls, corresponding to 51.38%) participated to Study 2. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis suggested that the SKS has a unidimensional structure, with factor loadings varying from .64 to .72. The SKS total score appears to be reliable (Cronbach’s α = .71 in Study 1, and McDonald’s ω = .82 in Study 2). Using confirmatory factor analysis, the 1-factor model was found to fit the data well. The results of measurement invariance suggest that the SKS measures similar constructs for boys and girls. Significant positive correlations were found between SKS, student-rated school climate, resilience, and life satisfaction, providing further evidence of the construct validity of the Turkish version of the SKS. The evidence suggests that scores from the Turkish version of the SKS are reliable and suitable to be used to assess school kindness in Turkish middle school students.