Development and psychometric testing of the school-life conflict scale (SLCS) among nursing students

Nursing students often face a heavy academic burden compared to students in other programs, possibly affecting their personal lives. However, a standardized scale assessing how academic demands interfere with the personal well-being in student nurses is lacking.

This study was conducted to develop and test the psychometric properties of the School-Life Conflict Scale (SLCS).

Exploratory sequential research design.

Three government nursing schools in the Philippines.

A total of 1014 student nurses participated in the study.

Both the inductive and deductive methods were employed to generate the scale items. The factor structure of the scale was established through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Five faculty experts examined the content validity of the scale.

A 14-item scale with three-factor structure was identified through factor analyses. These factors were labeled 'Academic Demands and Well-being', 'Social Interactions and Relationships', and 'Engagement in Extracurricular Activities'. The overall Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the scale was 0.900, while the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the 3 factors ranged from 0.808 to 0.859.

The SLCS shows excellent psychometric properties and can be used to assess the extent to which academic responsibilities intersect and interfere with personal life in student nurses. This scale may be utilized by nurse faculty to identify students at risk of conflict and to implement approaches to support their health and well-being.