TY - JOUR
T1 - Validation of the first Arabic version of the life skills scale among university students
AU - Maddah, Diana
AU - Hallit, Souheil
AU - Kabbara, Wissam
AU - Akel, Marwan
AU - Bowen, Keith
AU - Hasan, Zeinab
AU - Khasholian, Tamar Kabakian
AU - Alami, Nael H.
AU - Salameh, Pascale
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Despite the increasing recognition of positive life skills interventions to enhance the psychological and physical well=being of individuals, there is an absence of a valid and reliable Arabic measure of Life Skills (LS) amongst youth. This study aims at validating an Arabic Life Skills Scale (A-LSS) to assess the effectiveness of life skills interventions. A randomly selected sample of 1200 university students in Lebanon participated in this study. The exploratory-to-confirmatory factor analyses strategy was followed to examine the factor structure of the LSS. For that purpose, the sample was divided into two subsamples. The exploratory factor analysis results showed a nine-factor solution, with a strong reliability for the total scale (McDonald’s omega ω = 0.95) and all subscales (ω ranging from.68 to.91). The confirmatory analysis results showed excellent fit indices (CFI =.98, TLI = .97, GFI = .95; RMSEA = .031 [90% CI.028–.034] and SRMR = .061), after correlating residuals of items 53 and 54. Measurement invariance across genders was verified at the configural, scalar and metric levels. The A-LSS showed high reliability and validity of LS among Lebanese university students. This scale can be used as a valid tool to measure effectiveness of life skills health promotion interventions.
AB - Despite the increasing recognition of positive life skills interventions to enhance the psychological and physical well=being of individuals, there is an absence of a valid and reliable Arabic measure of Life Skills (LS) amongst youth. This study aims at validating an Arabic Life Skills Scale (A-LSS) to assess the effectiveness of life skills interventions. A randomly selected sample of 1200 university students in Lebanon participated in this study. The exploratory-to-confirmatory factor analyses strategy was followed to examine the factor structure of the LSS. For that purpose, the sample was divided into two subsamples. The exploratory factor analysis results showed a nine-factor solution, with a strong reliability for the total scale (McDonald’s omega ω = 0.95) and all subscales (ω ranging from.68 to.91). The confirmatory analysis results showed excellent fit indices (CFI =.98, TLI = .97, GFI = .95; RMSEA = .031 [90% CI.028–.034] and SRMR = .061), after correlating residuals of items 53 and 54. Measurement invariance across genders was verified at the configural, scalar and metric levels. The A-LSS showed high reliability and validity of LS among Lebanese university students. This scale can be used as a valid tool to measure effectiveness of life skills health promotion interventions.
KW - Arabic Life Skill Scale
KW - confirmatory analysis
KW - exploratory factor analysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145374726&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/2331186X.2022.2162692
DO - 10.1080/2331186X.2022.2162692
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85145374726
SN - 2331-186X
VL - 10
JO - Cogent Education
JF - Cogent Education
IS - 1
M1 - 2162692
ER -