Journal of Education and Research in Nursing
Validity and Reliability Study of a Scale to Measure Academic Help-seeking Behaviors Among Nursing Students in Ghana
Mudasir Mohammed Ibrahim1, Rashidatu Monne2, Bridget Comfort Tawiah3, Hanifa Adam3, Mohammed Sherif Abukari3, Ramatu Salifu4, Iddrisu Sisala Mohammed3, Abubakari Wuni51Department of Internal Medicine, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Tamale, Ghana2Department of Guidance and Counseling, Nurses’ and Midwives’ Training College, Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana
3Department of Nursing, Nurses’ and Midwives’ Training College, Tamale, Ghana
4Ghana Senior High School, Tamale, Ghana
5College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA
Background: Seeking academic assistance is a key component of effective learning and academic success in nursing education. However, there is currently no validated instrument specifically designed to measure this behavior within nursing education.
Aim: This study applied a structural equation modelling approach to evaluate the psychometric properties of three adapted scales intended to measure academic help-seeking behaviors among nursing students in Ghana.
Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional, analytical validation design. To determine the factor structure of the three scales, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess convergent and discriminant validity and composite reliability. Model adequacy was evaluated using standard fit indices.
Results: CFA confirmed the unidimensionality of the scales, with item loadings ranging from 0.632 to 0.893. The measurement model demonstrated acceptable fit (Standardized Root Mean Square Residual [SRMR]=0.050, Chi-Square/Degrees of Freedom [CMIN/DF]=2.227, Comparative Fit Index [CFI]=0.924, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA]=0.078, Tucker–Lewis Index [TLI]=0.910, Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index [AGFI]=0.940). All academic help-seeking scales exhibited satisfactory composite reliability and convergent validity: executive scale (ω=0.914, average variance extracted [AVE]=0.582), instrumental scale (ω=0.748, AVE=0.500), and avoidance scale (ω=0.903, AVE=0.573). Correlation analyses showed that the instrumental scale was negatively correlated with both executive (r=-0.426, p<0.001) and avoidance scales (r=-0.268, p<0.001), whereas a positive correlation was found between the executive and avoidance scales (r=0.587, p<0.001).
Conclusion: The final version of the instrument demonstrated good psychometric properties, supporting its reliability for measuring nursing students’ academic help-seeking behaviors.
Keywords: Academic, avoidance, executive, help-seeking behavior, instrumental, nursing students
Manuscript Language: English
Journal Citation Indicator: 0.18
CiteScore: 1.1
Source Normalized Impact
per Paper: 0.22
SCImago Journal Rank: 0.348
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