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Development and psychometric testing of the belongingness scale–clinical placement experience: an international comparative study

Development and psychometric testing of the belongingness scale–clinical placement experience: an international comparative study
Development and psychometric testing of the belongingness scale–clinical placement experience: an international comparative study
Aim: this paper reports the development and psychometric testing of the Belongingness Scale–Clinical Placement Experience, an instrument designed to measure the extent to which nursing students experience belongingness related to their clinical placements.

Background: the need to belong is a global concept that exerts a powerful influence on cognitive processes, emotional patterns, behavioural responses, health and well-being. Diminished belongingness impedes students’ motivation to learn. Measuring belongingness specific to the clinical environment and comparing different cohorts requires valid and reliable instruments.

Method: scales for measuring belongingness were identified following a critical review of the literature. From these a new 34-item instrument was developed. During 2006 the instrument was tested with students (n = 362) from two Australian universities and one university in the south of England. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was used to determine construct validity and Cronbach's coefficient alpha determined the scale's internal consistency reliability.

Results: differences in belongingness scores were statistically significant, with the British cohort scoring higher than either of the Australian sites. The scale demonstrated high internal consistency (alpha 0.92). Principal component analysis yielded a three-component structure termed Esteem, Connectedness and Efficacy and each subscale demonstrated high internal consistency: 0.9; 0.82; 0.8 respectively.

Conclusion: the scale was reliable and valid for the three cohorts. Results indicated that the instrument is capable of differentiating between respondents and cohorts. Further research in different contexts would be valuable in taking this work forward.
belongingness, nursing student, instrument development, clinical placement
1322-7696
153-324
Levett-Jones, Tracy
849c8b75-3575-490c-9daf-a80e792d53fe
Lathlean, Judith
98a74375-c265-47d2-b75b-5f0f3e14c1a9
Higgins, Isabel
debfcac6-c940-4383-bbcd-b285e644bd08
McMillan, Margaret
e8ee08bf-1eac-49a9-a3ac-914292569236
Levett-Jones, Tracy
849c8b75-3575-490c-9daf-a80e792d53fe
Lathlean, Judith
98a74375-c265-47d2-b75b-5f0f3e14c1a9
Higgins, Isabel
debfcac6-c940-4383-bbcd-b285e644bd08
McMillan, Margaret
e8ee08bf-1eac-49a9-a3ac-914292569236

Levett-Jones, Tracy, Lathlean, Judith, Higgins, Isabel and McMillan, Margaret (2009) Development and psychometric testing of the belongingness scale–clinical placement experience: an international comparative study. Collegian: Journal of the Royal College of Nursing Australia, 16 (3), 153-324. (doi:10.1016/j.colegn.2009.04.004). (PMID:19831149)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Aim: this paper reports the development and psychometric testing of the Belongingness Scale–Clinical Placement Experience, an instrument designed to measure the extent to which nursing students experience belongingness related to their clinical placements.

Background: the need to belong is a global concept that exerts a powerful influence on cognitive processes, emotional patterns, behavioural responses, health and well-being. Diminished belongingness impedes students’ motivation to learn. Measuring belongingness specific to the clinical environment and comparing different cohorts requires valid and reliable instruments.

Method: scales for measuring belongingness were identified following a critical review of the literature. From these a new 34-item instrument was developed. During 2006 the instrument was tested with students (n = 362) from two Australian universities and one university in the south of England. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was used to determine construct validity and Cronbach's coefficient alpha determined the scale's internal consistency reliability.

Results: differences in belongingness scores were statistically significant, with the British cohort scoring higher than either of the Australian sites. The scale demonstrated high internal consistency (alpha 0.92). Principal component analysis yielded a three-component structure termed Esteem, Connectedness and Efficacy and each subscale demonstrated high internal consistency: 0.9; 0.82; 0.8 respectively.

Conclusion: the scale was reliable and valid for the three cohorts. Results indicated that the instrument is capable of differentiating between respondents and cohorts. Further research in different contexts would be valuable in taking this work forward.

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More information

Published date: July 2009
Keywords: belongingness, nursing student, instrument development, clinical placement

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 155005
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/155005
ISSN: 1322-7696
PURE UUID: 7cc003b7-0667-40c9-9519-afb00f6a9950

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Date deposited: 26 May 2010 15:18
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 01:36

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Contributors

Author: Tracy Levett-Jones
Author: Judith Lathlean
Author: Isabel Higgins
Author: Margaret McMillan

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