Measuring Academic Jealousy among Faculty Members: Scale Development, Psychometric Validation, and Network Analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Education

Background:

• Academic environments foster competition, potentially leading to jealousy among faculty.
• Existing measures may not adequately capture the nuances of academic jealousy in diverse cultural contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Academic Jealousy among Faculty Members Scale (AJFM) for Arab university faculty.
• To explore the psychometric properties and network structure of the AJFM scale.
• To identify central themes and potential drivers of academic jealousy.

Main Methods:

• A two-phase, cross-sectional study in Jordan involving item generation, pilot testing, and psychometric evaluation.
• Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for construct validity.
• Reliability analysis (Cronbach's α, ICC) and network analysis (EBICglasso) were conducted.

Main Results:

• EFA revealed a three-factor structure: Career Progression Jealousy, Collegial Recognition Jealousy, and Research Achievement Jealousy.
• CFA confirmed acceptable model fit and gender invariance. Reliability was strong (α=0.808-0.853) with excellent test-retest consistency (ICC=0.822).
• Network analysis identified central nodes like 'tenure-related anxiety' and 'evaluation-based envy'.

Conclusions:

• The AJFM scale is a psychometrically sound and culturally relevant instrument for assessing academic jealousy.
• The findings offer insights into the psychological salience of specific jealousy-related factors in academic settings.
• The scale can aid in identifying emotional strain linked to professional stress and mental health in academia.