Development and validation of Temperance Scale in Pakistan

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Personality Science
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Temperance, defined as voluntary self-restraint or moderation, is a crucial virtue.
• Existing measures may not adequately capture the multifaceted nature of temperance.
• Developing a reliable and valid scale is essential for empirical research on temperance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct and validate a comprehensive measure of temperance.
• To identify the underlying dimensions of temperance through factor analysis.
• To examine the scale's convergent and discriminant validity.

Main Methods:

• Two studies were conducted with university student samples (N=250 and N=268).
• Study I involved item generation, expert review, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA).
• Study II utilized confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and correlated the scale with measures of empathy and academic procrastination.

Main Results:

• EFA in Study I identified a 24-item, four-factor structure: Self-regulation (α = .72), Prudence (α = .71), Humility (α = .79), and Forgiveness (α = .73).
• CFA in Study II confirmed this four-factor structure, demonstrating a good model fit.
• The Temperance Scale showed a positive correlation with empathy and a nonsignificant relationship with academic procrastination.

Conclusions:

• The newly developed Temperance Scale is a psychometrically sound measure.
• The scale effectively assesses the four identified dimensions of temperance.
• The findings support the scale's validity for measuring individual differences in self-restraint.