Validity and Reliability Assessment of the Arabic Version of the Social and Emotional Competencies Questionnaire in a Moroccan Nursing Student Population

Abstract

<b>Objective:</b> The Social and Emotional Competencies Questionnaire (SEC-Q) represents one of the existing tests for assessing these competences in students. The purpose of the present research was to examine the psychometric properties of the SEC-Q in Moroccan nursing students. <b>Method</b> <b>:</b> A sample of 320 Moroccan nursing students, including 190 women and 130 men, was selected using a stratified convenience sampling method. Methodology consisted of forward and backward translations, linguistic adaptation, and pilot revision. Structural validity was investigated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Reliability was assessed through test-retest analysis using Pearson's correlation. <b>Results:</b> Factor analyses produced a four-factor version of 16 items with a range of factor loadings from 0.72 to 0.89. Cronbach's alpha values were 0.92 for the self-awareness factor, 0.91 for the self-management factor, 0.90 for the social awareness factor, and 0.92 for the decision-making factor. These high values indicate excellent reliability. The test-retest coefficient for a 20-day interval between two assessments gave an rtt value of 0.92, demonstrating excellent response reliability. A strong correlation between the SECQ-AV, WLEIS and PSS-CP was found, demonstrating satisfactory convergent and divergent validity (P < 0.05). <b>Conclusion:</b> The Arabic version of SECQ demonstrated its validity and reliability for assessing social and emotional competencies in Moroccan nursing students. However, the sample selected was drawn from a single nursing training institute, which limits the representativeness of the entire student population, and makes it difficult to generalize the results. A cross-sectional study will therefore produce much more varied results, by including a very large sample from different regions and different nursing training institutes in Morocco.