Design and Psychometrics of Social Indifference Questionnaire

Document Type : Original Article (s)

Authors

1 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

2 Department of Sports Physiology, School of Sports Sciences, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran

3 PhD Student, Student Research Committee, School of Management and Medical Information Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

4 MD&MPH, Assistant Professor of Family and Prevention Medicine, Medical Faculty, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Background: Social indifference, with the concept of meaninglessness and apathy towards social conditions, is more prevalent today than in the past. Considering the negative personal and social consequences of this phenomenon, there is a need for its measurement in different societies. In this regard, this study was conducted to design and evaluate the psychometric properties of a Social Indifference Questionnaire.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on all teachers in Isfahan city in 2024. Form validity, content validity (CVR, CVI), criterion validity (divergent and convergent), exploratory factor analysis and reliability (Cronbach's alpha) of the questionnaire were measured. Factor analysis was performed using the varimax rotation method on 267 individuals from 5 educational districts, selected via stratified random sampling. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and Student's t-test were used to report the data.
Findings: In the content validity determination stage, 13 items out of 33 questionnaire items and one item in the internal consistency measurement stage were removed. In the stage of exploratory factor analysis, based on the acceptability of the factor load, 19 items were grouped into 4 factors: civic ethics and social responsibility, rule of law and social empathy, socio-political accountability, and socio-economic nationalism, which collectively accounted for 51.78% of the total variance. The reliability, calculated using Cronbach's alpha, was 0.749 for the entire questionnaire and ranged from 0.677 to 0.778 for the subscales.
Conclusion: According to the confirmation of the psychometric characteristics of the social indifference questionnaire, the results of this study can be used by researchers, managers, and planners in social, political, and psychological fields as scientific outputs and research documents for planning and measures appropriate to the characteristics of society.

Highlights

Rahele Samouei: Google Scholar

Shokoofeh Samouei: Google Scholar

Reza Ruzbahani: Google Scholar 

Keywords

Main Subjects


  1. Zareivand L, Ghodrati S, Arfaei Moghadam A. The study of social indifference and related social factors;Case study: Hakim Sabzevari university students [in Persian]. Social Problems of Iran 2020; 11(2): 125-52.
  2. Naraghi Y. Sociology and development. Tehran, Iran: Forozan Roz Publications; 2014.
  3. Chong TTJ. Definition: Apathy. Cortex 2020; 128: 326-7.
  4. Navabakhsh M, Mirzapouri J. A sociological analysis of anomaly effect on social apathy (case of study: babol city) [in Persian]. Journal of Iranian Social Development Studies 2015; 7(3): 53-67.
  5. Khachatryan K, Hakobyan N. Social Apathy and Emotional Burnout Syndrome as the Measurement of Phenomenon of Anomie. Proceedings of The World Conference on Social Sciences 2(1): 1–11.
  6. Mohseni Tabrizi A, Sedaghati Fard M. A research in social apathy in iran (case research: Tehran) [in Persian]. Journal of Applied Sociology 2011; 22(3): 1-22.
  7. Nabavi A, Navah A, Amirshirzad N. The Study of Influential Factors on Social Apathy (Case Study: Dezfuli Citizens Aged 18 and Over) [in Persian]. Iranian Journal of Sociology 2013; 15(3): 132-61.
  8. Naghdi A. Social Apathy. Causes and consequences (Case Study of Hamadan) [in Persian]. Social Studies Research in Iran. 2023; 12(1): 87-104.
  9. Jalalian A. Investigating the factors affecting the social indifference of the people of Kerman city towards public welfare in 2019 [in Persian]. Journal Iranian Political Sociology 2023; 5(11): 6370-6.
  10. Zare Shahabadi A SSM. Investigating the relationship between social indifference and social capital in a case study of Isfahan and Yazd university students. Proceedings of he 2nd National Conference of Knowledge and Technology of Educational Sciences of Social Studies and Psychology of Iran; 2015. [in Persian].
  11. Moradi A, Safarin M. Investigating social factors related to indifference: the case study of Kermanshah city [in Persian]. Economic Sociology and Development 2019; 1(8): 158-89.
  12. Carrozzino D. Clinimetric approach to rating scales for the assessment of apathy in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 94: 109641.
  13. Mohammad D, Ellis C, Rau A, Rosenberg PB, Mintzer J, Ruthirakuhan M, et al. Psychometric properties of apathy scales in dementia: a systematic review. J Alzheimers Dis 2018; 66(3): 1065-82.
  14. Markus HR, Kitayama S. Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review 98(2): 224–53.
  15. Su FT, Tai CH, Tan CH, Hwang WJ, Yu RL. The development of the social functioning scale for patients with Parkinson's disease. J Parkinsons Dis 2020; 10(3): 1143-51.
  16. Yu RL, Wu RM, Chan AY, Mok V, Wu YR, Tilley BC, et al. Cross‐cultural differences of the non‐motor symptoms studied by the traditional chinese version of the international Parkinson and movement disorder society–unified Parkinson's disease rating scale. Mov Disord Clin Pract 2017; 4(1): 68-77.
  17. Fei X, Hamilton GG, Zheng W. From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society: University of California Press; 1992.
  18. Yang KS. Chinese Social Orientation: An Integrative Analysis. In: Lin TY, Tseng WS, Yeh YK, Editors. Chinese Societies and Mental Health. Oxford University Press, Hong Kong; 1995. p. 19-39.

Hyrkäs K, Appelqvist-Schmidlechner K, Oksa L. Validating an instrument for clinical supervision using an expert panel. Int J Nurs Stud 2003; 40(6): 619-25.