Developing Prosocial Behavior in Peer Relationships Scale Among College Students.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Prosocial behaviors are vital for relationship maintenance across all life stages.
• Peer relationships significantly influence behavior during adolescence and young adulthood.
• A validated tool is needed to assess prosocial behaviors specifically in university students' peer contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a scale measuring prosocial behaviors among university students within their peer relationships.
• To provide a psychometrically sound instrument for research and practice.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) on data from 484 university students to determine scale structure.
• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) on data from 494 university students to confirm the scale's one-factor structure.
• Reliability testing using Cronbach's Alpha and McDonald's Omega.

Main Results:

• The exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 19-item, one-factor scale.
• Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the one-factor structure with good model fit indices (e.g., RMSEA = .064, CFI = .950).
• The scale demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's Alpha = .920, McDonald's Omega = .921).

Conclusions:

• The Prosocial Behavior in Peer Relationships Scale is a valid and reliable instrument.
• The scale effectively assesses prosocial behaviors in the peer relationships of university students.
• This tool can aid in understanding and promoting positive social interactions in higher education settings.