Spanish Adaptation of the Sense of Control Scale

People have the basic need to experiment control over the most important aspects of their environment. Even though the Sense of Control Scale is one of the most used instruments to measure sense of control, its psychometric properties have not been thoroughly assessed in a Spanish-speaking context. This preregistered study adapts the Sense of Control Scale into Spanish. To achieve this, 605 adults (M_age = 33.09, SD = 14.18) filled out an online questionnaire containing the relevant measurements. Evidence of the structure of two first-order dimensions and a second-order dimension was obtained (CFI = .960; TLI = .949; RMSEA = .044; RMSR = .039). The measure showed measurement invariance across gender at the configural, metric, and scalar levels. The perceived constraints and personal mastery dimensions, as well as the overall score of the Spanish Sense of Control Scale (SP-SCS) showed good reliability. Moreover, lower levels of sense of control, whether considering scores on its two dimensions (i.e., perceived constraints and personal mastery) or the overall score, were indicative of worse subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and happiness), greater psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, and stress), and higher perceived financial threat. The findings of this study reveal that the SP-SCS is a promising instrument to assess sense of control in the Spanish-speaking population.