Preliminary Validation of the Perceived Social Competence Scale II (PSCSII) Among High School Female Students

Social competence is defined as the ability to build positive social relationships and to behave effectively in social contexts in all situations and times. Given the importance of promoting social competence for children and youth, having useful tools for assessing social competence is essential. The present study aimed to examine the validity, reliability and factor structure of the Perceived Social Competence Scale II (PSCSII) among Iranian students.
In this study, 518 high school female students were selected using cluster sampling method and completed the PSCSII. To assess the validity of the scale, the confirmatory factor analysis, and convergent validity, and to assess the reliability, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, were used.
Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed one-factor structure of the scale. The correlation coefficient of the perceived social competence with emotional competence and peer support were positive and statistically significant. These results show the convergent validity of the scale. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was in a satisfactory level for total score of the scale.
The findings suggest that the perceived social competence scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing social competence of Iranian high school female students and can be used as a suitable instrument in psychological research.