A Psychometric Study of the Prosocial Behavior Scale: Differential Item Functioning by Gender

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Prosocial behavior in adolescents is crucial, yet its measurement, particularly regarding gender differences, lacks consistent, validated tools.
• Ensuring gender non-bias in psychometric instruments is essential for robust research on adolescent prosociality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide psychometric evidence for the Prosocial Behavior Scale in an adolescent sample.
• To examine the scale's factor structure, reliability, gender-related differential item functioning (DIF), and nomological validity.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was employed to assess the scale's factor structure.
• Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega.
• Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis was conducted to detect gender bias, and nomological validity was explored through correlations with psychological capital.

Main Results:

• The Prosocial Behavior Scale demonstrated an adequate factor structure fitting the data.
• Reliability analyses indicated good internal consistency (α = 0.74, ω = 0.74).
• While five items showed minor gender-related DIF favoring females, its impact was negligible; nomological validity was supported by correlations with psychological capital.

Conclusions:

• The Prosocial Behavior Scale exhibits satisfactory psychometric properties for assessing adolescent prosocial behavior and gender differences.
• The findings underscore the need for gender-fair measurement tools to accurately capture nuanced gender differences in prosocial behavior manifestations.