Psychometric properties of the Chinese Responsibility Scale in university students in Hong Kong, China

This paper reports the development and evaluation of psychometric properties of the Chinese Responsibility Scale (CRS), which was designed to capture the multidimensional nature of responsibility in Chinese young people based on an integration of both Western and Chinese philosophies and conceptual models. Based on an integration of philosophical and scientific literature, we proposed a conceptual framework assessing responsibility across three dimensions: responsibility to oneself, family, and society.

Study 1 was a content validation study conducted with an expert panel (N = 10) based on an initial item pool of 26 items. In Study 2, the 20-item CRS was administered to university students in Hong Kong, China, and assessed across two waves, resulting in data from a large sample (N = 963 for the matched sample). Different psychometric properties, including factorial validity, measurement invariance, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and reliability of the total scale and subscales were assessed.

The findings support different forms of validity, measurement invariance, and reliability of the CRS, demonstrating its suitability as an objective tool for evaluating self-reported responsibility among emerging adults in the Chinese cultural context. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.