Measuring students' connectedness to school, teachers and family: Validation of three scales
Document Type
Journal Article
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Faculty
Faculty of Computing, Health and Science
School
School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Science / Child Health Promotion Research Centre
RAS ID
10518
Abstract
Connectedness to school, teachers, and family are all significant protective factors in adolescents’ lives, yet the measurement of each varies considerably. This article describes the measurement properties of three composite scales of adolescent connectedness, adapted from the Add Health study and the California Healthy Kids Survey. These composite scales are created by either summing or taking the mean of all individual items, measured on an ordinal scale. This approach fails to account for the ordinal, non-normal nature of the data. Using a covariance approach, this article describes the measurement properties of the latent constructs of connectedness to school, teachers, and family and the contribution of each of the items used to compile the relevant composite score. The outcomes of this study will provide researchers and practitioners with information about the validity, reliability, and overall usefulness of each of the measures of adolescents’ perception of their connectedness to school, teachers, and family.
DOI
10.1037/a0020942
Comments
Waters, S. K., & Cross, D. S. (2010). Measuring students' connectedness to school, teachers and family: Validation of three scales. School Psychology Quarterly, 25(3), 164-177. Available here