Development and initial validation of the Social-Emotional Skills Questionnaire (SESQ): An exploratory factor analysis among university students

Abstract

Social-emotional skills (SES) are practical life skills, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, and performance-based abilities, that are crucial to an individual's overall development. In higher education, students are required to attain life skills to become refined citizens. Social-emotional skills hold significant value from this perspective. This study accounts for development and initial psychometric validation of the Social-Emotional Skills Questionnaire (SESQ) for university students in Pakistan. The instrument was originally comprised of 47 items sifted from a pool of 93 items. After refinement, however, followed by item analysis, 26-item version was retained. Data were collected from 211 university students. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), using Principal Component extraction with oblique Promax rotation (κ = 4), was conducted. Sampling adequacy was confirmed (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin = .885), and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity was significant, χ²(325) = 1813.97, p < .001. A five-factor solution emerged as a result of Exploratory factor analysis, explaining 52.10% of total variance: factors or sub-scales were specifying as; 1. Relationship Skills and Responsible Decision-Making, 2. Self-Awareness, 3. Self-Management, 4. Decision-Making Under Pressure, and 5. Self-Reflection. Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha) ranged from .55 to .84 across subscales, with an overall alpha of .90. Findings provide initial evidence supporting the construct validity and reliability of the SESQ as a multidimensional measure of social-emotional skills among university students. Confirmatory factor analysis on an independent sample is recommended as a subsequent phase of validation