The Sense of Security and Comfort in Education—Development, Validation, and Interpretation of a New Questionnaire

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the sense of security and comfort (SSC) as a latent construct in compulsory education. Taking theoretical considerations into account, a questionnaire for primary and secondary schools was developed in several pre-studies and then empirically tested. The sample consisted of 1462 students from 17 schools and 87 classes (n = 1376) in Austria. For the validation, the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to test the dimensional plausibility, the nomological plausibility, and the measurement invariance of the SSC, as well as to identify the central predictors of the SSC. The results indicate that the four-factor solution found is empirically valid and plausible against the background of the theoretical assumptions. Therefore, this study opens up the possibility of appropriately addressing this complex social emotion in the educational context in the future.