Validity and Reliability of the Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward Pediatric Nursing Scale

Background and Purpose: The complexity of pediatric nursing specialization requires unique preparation to ensure that nurses caring for children are knowledgeable, competent, and compassionate. One important way to encourage nursing students to pursue this professional pathway is by developing positive attitudes toward pediatric nursing. Therefore, it is essential to create and validate a robust scale to accurately measure nursing students' attitudes toward this specialization. This study aimed to test the validity and reliability of the Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward Pediatric Nursing Scale. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design and surveyed a convenience sample of 265 nursing students at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia. Data collection was conducted from August to December 2024. The newly developed tool consisted of a 26-item scale designed to assess nursing students' attitudes toward pediatric nursing. We established content, structural, and construct validity, as well as internal consistency reliability. Data analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 24.0. Results: The item-level content validity indices for the final scale items ranged from .80 to 1.00, with a scale-level content validity index of .90. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a single-factor scale with 16 items, explaining 64.2% of the overall variance in students' attitudes toward pediatric nursing. The Cronbach's alpha for the 16-item scale was .962. Bivariate analyses indicated that students who were married, had children, had children in their families, and had higher knowledge of pediatric nursing tended to have more positive attitudes toward the field. Conclusions: The findings support the content, structural, and construct validity, as well as the internal consistency reliability of a single-factor scale that effectively measures nursing students' attitudes toward pediatric nursing. The establishment of this valid and reliable tool has significant implications for nursing education, practice, and research.