Validación de la Escala de Tendencias de Acción Política en una Muestra de Estudiantes Universitarios Chilenos

Abstract

This study was aimed at validating the Political Action Tendencies Scale in Chilean students who attend traditional universities in the region of Valparaiso, Chile. Through a quota sampling process, 600 students of both sexes were enrolled. Theirmean age was of 20.09 years (SD = 3.02). Participants filled in a 12-item questionnaire measuring willingness to participate in several forms of political action. Two-factor and 3-factor models were tested through confirmatory factor analyses. The 3-factor model—which included non normative political action, organized political action and normative political action—displayed the best fit. Confirmatory factor analyses also supported the metric invariance of the scale by sex, religion, and political orientation, which made it possible to compare—with Student's t-test—the means of these groups in the 3 dimensions of the scale and demonstrated its discriminant validity. These findings provide evidence of the validity of the Political Action Tendencies Scale. Steps to improve this instrument include incorporating additional dimensions of political action and extending its application to other social actors.