The factorial structure and psychometric properties of a measure of the attitude towards volunteer work for secondary school students: Exploratory - psychometric study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the factorial structure of the Attitude Toward Volunteering Scale for high school students, as revealed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The study also seeks to determine the internal consistency validity and the reliability of the scale. Additionally, it aims to assess the overall level of students’ attitudes toward volunteering, and to investigate statistically significant differences in attitudes that may be attributed to gender.
A stratified random sample was selected from the study population, consisting of 507 male and female high school students. A questionnaire was developed to assess students’ attitudes toward volunteering. The study relied on a scale developed by the two researchers to measure high school students’ attitudes toward volunteering.
Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the factorial validity of the scale, with the extracted factors explaining more than 60% of the total variance (specifically, 61.60%), indicating the validity of the scale. The scale also demonstrated internal consistency validity, making it appropriate for use.
McDonald’s Omega coefficient was calculated to assess the multidimensional reliability of both the individual dimensions and the overall scale, and the results confirmed its reliability.
Findings also showed that the overall attitude toward volunteering among students was high. Furthermore, statistically significant gender-based differences were found in the cognitive and affective dimensions, in favor of female students, while no significant gender differences were found in the behavioral dimension.