Academic Involution Scale for College Students in China (AISCSC)

Abstract

The Academic Involution Scale for College Students in China (AISCSC), developed by Wang, Yang, & Cui (2024), is a specialized instrument designed to quantify and analyze academic involution behaviors among students in China. The scale focuses on three primary dimensions: Academic Behavior, Social Activity, and Social Interaction. Developed initially from a 16-item pool derived through extensive literature review, the AISCSC underwent rigorous psychometric evaluation, including content analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to establish its robustness and validity within the specific cultural and educational context.

Keywords

Academic Behavior, Academic Involution, Chinese, College Students, Competitive Psychology, Involutional Behaviors, Nei Juan, Social Activity, Social Relationship.

Authors

Wang, Feng (Robin), Yang, Yanchao, Cui, Tianxue.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the AISCSC is to provide a standardized tool for researchers and educators to systematically assess the prevalence and manifestation of academic involution behaviors among college students residing in China. This assessment helps in understanding the intense competitive pressures inherent in the Chinese higher education system.

Specifically, the scale measures behaviors related to excessive engagement in academic activities, participation in club or internship opportunities, and the nature of social interactions, all viewed through the lens of involution—a phenomenon characterized by excessive self-effort that yields diminishing returns due to hyper-competition.

Construct

The scale measures Academic Involution Behaviors. This construct reflects the societal and academic pressure experienced by students, often leading to a state of internal competition or “involution.” This concept, frequently referred to as Nei Juan in Mandarin, describes a cycle where increasing effort and resources are expended without corresponding increases in status or reward, resulting in heightened anxiety and stress.

The construct is operationalized across three key subscales:

• Academic Behavior (AB): Focusing on excessive study habits or competitive academic strategies.
• Social Activity (SA): Measuring competitive participation in extracurriculars, clubs, or internships.
• Social Interaction (SI): Assessing competitive elements and stress within peer relationships.

Validity

The validity of the AISCSC was established through multiple psychometric methods, ensuring that the instrument accurately measures the intended construct. Both concurrent and convergent validity provided strong empirical support for the scale structure.

Regarding Concurrent Validity, all three subscales demonstrated statistically significant positive correlations with measures of academic anxiety. The correlations were as follows: Academic Behavior (r = .32, p < .001), Social Activity (r = .28, p < .001), and Social Interaction (r = .21, p < .001). Furthermore, Convergent Validity was confirmed by meeting established thresholds. The Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values for all factors (AB = 0.59, SA = 0.85, SI = 0.74) exceeded the required threshold of 0.5. Similarly, the Construct Reliability (CR) values (AB = 0.91, SA = 0.97, SI = 0.92) were all substantially higher than the recommended 0.7 threshold, indicating strong internal consistency and factor distinctiveness.

Reliability

Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients across the three identified factors. The results indicate high reliability for all subscales, confirming the consistency of the item set within each dimension.

The reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were: Academic Behavior (.90), Social Activity (.96), and Social Interaction (.93). These values surpass the generally accepted standard of 0.70 for research instruments, demonstrating excellent reliability for the AISCSC.

Factor Analysis

Both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were employed during the scale development process. The EFA, utilizing Principal Component Analysis (PCA), supported a clear and interpretable three-factor structure (Academic Behavior, Social Activity, Social Interaction), collectively explaining 74.85% of the total variance in the 16 items.

The subsequent Confirmatory Factor Analysis confirmed the appropriateness of this three-factor model. Key goodness-of-fit indices demonstrated strong model fit to the empirical data: χ² = 236.33, df = 101, yielding a highly acceptable χ²/df ratio of 2.34. Other fit indices further supported the model: GFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.07, RMR = 0.04, CFI = 0.96, and NFI = 0.94. These results confirm the robust factorial structure of the AISCSC.

Instrument

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: Items are rated using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). The scale consists of 16 items administered electronically.

Language Available: Chinese (Mandarin)

Population Group: Human (Male and Female)

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older)

Population Details: The scale was validated specifically on College Students located in China.

Test Methodology: Comprehensive methodology including Test Validity (Content, Construct, Concurrent Validity, Convergent Validity); Test Reliability (Internal Consistency using Cronbach’s alpha); and Factor Analysis (EFA, CFA, PCA).

Keywords

Academic Involution, Nei Juan, Chinese Higher Education, Student Competition, Psychometrics, Social Interaction, Quantitative Scale.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source data.

Affiliation Email addresses: The corresponding author’s email is [email protected] (Yang, Yanchao).

Correspondence Address: Wang, Feng (Robin): School of Translation Studies, Shandong University at Weihai; Yang, Yanchao: School of Foreign Languages, Guangzhou University; Cui, Tianxue: Faculty of Education, University of Macau.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The AISCSC was published and validated in the year 2024. Information regarding specific permissions and licensing fees for commercial or clinical use is not detailed in the source material. The administration method specified is electronic. No downloadable files (such as a PDF of the original scale) were provided in the source documentation.

Reference’s

Wang, F. (R.), Yang, Y., & Cui, T. (2024). Development and validation of an Academic Involution Scale for College Students in China. Psychology in the Schools, 61(3), 847–860. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.23087

Items of the Academic Involution Scale for College Students in China (AISCSC)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The original 16 items of the Academic Involution Scale for College Students in China were not provided in the source documentation provided for this entry. The scale is composed of three factors: Academic Behavior (AB), Social Activity (SA), and Social Interaction (SI).