Assessing the construct validity and reliability of the academic motivation scale in the Vietnamese context

Abstract

Background: Academic motivation is one of the most studied constructs in psychology. However, in Vietnam, the lack of valid and reliable instruments evaluating academic motivation has led to limitations in research on this topic. The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) is widely applied to different contexts across the world. The purpose of the study is to assess the construct validity and reliability of the AMS with a sample of Vietnamese university students. Participants and Procedure: The research study was conducted with a convenience sample of 341 university students. Male students accounted for 11.70% of participants. The average age was 20.28 with a standard deviation of 1.12. To participate in the study, students conducted an online questionnaire consisting of the AMS. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and correlation analysis and calculated Cronbach's α to examine the validity and reliability of the scale. Results: CFA indicated that the seven-factor model fitted the data best, with all the unstandardized factor loadings being statistically significant. Regarding reliability, AMS subscales had satisfactory Cronbach αs. Correlation analysis supported almost entirely the hypothesis about simplex structure of the AMS. Conclusions: Considering the results, we suggest that the AMS has met the requirements for validity and reliability, and could be used in research with Vietnamese university students on academic motivation itself and its relationships with other psychological constructs.