Development of the scale of social interest for elementary school children

Abstract

This study reports the development of The Scale of Social Interest for Elementary School Children and examines its reliability and validity. Elementary school students of fourth, fifth, and sixth grades responded to provisional items of the scale, as well as scales assessing mental health, adaptation to school, and sympathy. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted using the provisional items. The following three factors, which had also been identified by Kosaka (2011), were extracted: feelings of contribution, feelings of belonging to society and trust in society, and self-acceptance. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated sufficient fitness. The reliability of the scale was confirmed based on internal consistency and stability. The predicted relationships among the scale and mental health, school adaptation, and sympathy were demonstrated. Based on these results, the reliability and validity of the Scale of Social Interest for Elementary School Children were confirmed.