Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Psychology Dept., Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Educational and Counseling Psychology Dept., Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
3 Full Professor, Educational and Counseling Psychology Dept., Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
4 Associate Professor, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , University of Tehran
Abstract
The sense of belonging to university is linked to numerous aspects of the psycho-social health of students. However, there are many ambiguities in the conceptualization and measurement of this construct. The few tools designed in the field of higher education largely assess the sense of belonging and the measurement of the components of belonging to the university has received less attention in previous studies. The current study aimed to develop and validate the "Students' Sense of Belonging to University Scale (SSBUS)." In a correlational and tool development design, 345 students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad were selected in the first stage and 477 students of University of Birjand were selected in the second stage by available sampling method. The results of exploratory factor analysis in the first stage showed four factors with 49.72% variance explanation, which included the components of interaction with professors, interaction with peers, university climate and self-esteem. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four-factor model had a good fit, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the subscales was reported in the range of 0.75-0.90. In addition, other analyses provided evidence to support the internal consistency, convergent validity, and divergent validity of the sense of belonging scale. It was found that each of the dimensions of this scale was significantly related to the measures of commitment to the university, social-emotional loneliness, satisfaction with life, depression and agentic engagement. In addition, the results of the retest coefficient of the subscales were in the range of 0.64-0.74. According to the findings of the present research, the students' sense of belonging to university scale has desirable psychometric properties and can be used as a valid instrument.
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