Validation of an Assessment Tool to Measure Psycho-Social Factors Associated With Willingness to Participate in Child-Centered Initiatives

Abstract

The aim of the paper was the validation of a psychosocial assessment tool for determining willingness to participate in child-centered safety promotion interventions, specifically in a low-income community in South Africa. A study was conducted as part of the initial validation to test the items and format the questionnaire. The instrument was then administered to Afrikaans speaking individuals in a community in the Western Cape. Iterative exploratory factor analysis was conducted at both the item and scale levels to select and reassign items and scales to determine the final composition of the questionnaire. The findings indicate that the instrument measures seven factors, namely incentives; priorities and community needs; perceived benefits; social approval; accessibility and values; altruistic capital; and community cohesion, which represents salient dimensions of the construct willingness to participate in interventions. The questionnaire and its subscales displayed acceptable to good reliability, with Cronbach’s α ranging from .55 to .80. Since willingness precedes actual participation, it is argued that insight into the factors that relate to willingness to participate provides an avenue for motivating actual participation.