PSYCHOMETRIC VALIDATION OF THE TRANSIT TO ADULTHOOD SCALE IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The purpose of this research was to analyze the construct validity and the reliability of a questionnaire adapted to Spanish, of the Arnett (2001) Scale on the Perception of the Transition to Adulthood. This was carried out through expert judgment, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), to identify its latent dimensions, and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), using the method based on the structural equations model (SEM). This model studies the goodness of fit to determine if the variances and covariances of the data are consistent with the designed model, to demonstrate that the factorial structure of the instrument is optimal and has a good fit. The sample consisted of 906 university students, aged 21 years-old in average. The EFA reveals a structure of three factors responsible for 63.04% of the variance, with saturations that oscillate between alpha = .67 and alpha =.89; the internal consistency of the scale is high, alpha =.895. The mean values of the goodness of fit of the model were quite satisfactory, GFI = .934 and AGFI =.934, RMSEA = .057 and SRMR = .043. The results suggest that the scale has adequate psychometric properties due to its construct validity, a satisfactory factorial structure, and a remarkable reliability, thus, its use is recommended.