Measurement of Psychological Independence

Scale Validity and Reliability

Abstract

Among three domains of independence: economical, practical and psychological independence, research on psychological independence remains scant, and no measurement scale has been developed. The objectives of this study are: 1) to specify the concept of psychological independence; 2) to construct a scale to measure psychological independence; and 3) to examine the validity and reliability of the scale by administering the scale to a large probability sample . Psychological independence was defined as a concept consisting of two sub-constructs: a purposefulness and personal accountability. A four-item scale was created for each sub-construct. Those sub-scales were administered to a national probability sample of 2, 203 individuals (age 18-69). Covariance structure analysis yielded a sufficient degree of fitness of the second-order structural equation model, which confirms the validity of the scale. Chronbach's alpha was 0.795 in the acceptable range, indicating reliability of the instrument. The applicability of the scale to the older population (age 70+) will be demonstrated in a future study.