Social Responsibility

Abstract

The Social Responsibility scale is a brief psychological instrument initially developed by Nedwek in 1987, with significant expansion and refinement provided by Flewelling, Paschall, and Ringwalt in 1993. This scale is designed to measure an individual’s sense of Social Responsibility and related attitudes, specifically focusing on concepts of civic awareness and personal accountability. The instrument utilizes a 4-point Likert Scale format and is primarily used in research contexts concerning youth attitudes toward violence, law-breaking, and community contribution. A higher cumulative score on the scale indicates a greater sense of responsibility.

Keywords

Social Responsibility, Civic Responsibility, Attitude Assessment, Youth, Nedwek, Flewelling, Paschall, Ringwalt, Political Socialization, Accountability, Prosocial Behavior.

Authors

Nedwek, B.P. (1987), Flewelling, R.L., Paschall, M.J., and Ringwalt, C.L. (1993).

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Social Responsibility scale is to quantitatively assess an individual’s orientation toward societal norms, laws, and the welfare of others. The items are structured to gauge the degree to which respondents feel personally obligated to contribute positively to society and respect legal boundaries, even when personal gain is involved.

The scale is particularly relevant for measuring attitudes that are predictors of behavior in two key domains: 1) School and Academics, suggesting an assessment of responsibility within institutional settings; and 2) Personal Attitudes and Beliefs, focusing on intrinsic moral and civic obligations. It serves as a tool for researchers studying the underlying psychological components of antisocial behavior and violence prevention among younger populations.

Construct

The core construct measured by this instrument is Civic Responsibility and awareness. This construct encompasses the belief that one’s actions have consequences for the broader community and that citizens have a duty to uphold laws and strive for societal improvement. The scale captures both cynical, self-serving attitudes (e.g., belief that breaking the law is necessary for success) and altruistic, pro-social attitudes (e.g., caring about the effect of one’s actions on others).

Items 1 through 4 generally reflect low levels of Social Responsibility or a high degree of individualism and fatalism, while items 5 and 6 measure positive, high-responsibility attitudes, necessitating reverse coding during scoring. The integration of these two types of statements allows for a nuanced measure of the respondent’s overall sense of social duty.

Validity

Specific psychometric validity coefficients (e.g., construct validity, convergent validity) were not provided in the source material. However, the scale’s inclusion in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) compendium, “Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths,” suggests it possesses sufficient face validity and content validity for use in assessing attitudes relevant to violence and delinquency research among youth populations.

Reliability

Detailed reliability statistics (such as Cronbach’s Alpha or test-retest reliability) for the combined 6-item scale, particularly following the 1993 additions by Flewelling et al., were not specified in the available summary. Researchers utilizing this instrument should consult the original sources or subsequent studies that have employed the scale for specific reliability data pertaining to their target population.

Factor Analysis

Information regarding the explicit factor structure or dimensionality of the combined 6-item Social Responsibility scale is not provided in the source documentation. Given the scale’s brevity and the distinct nature of the original item (Nedwek, 1987) versus the subsequent additions (Flewelling et al., 1993), it is possible the items load onto a single factor representing general social responsibility, or potentially two related sub-factors distinguishing between law-abiding behavior and proactive civic engagement.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report attitude inventory

Format: Paper-and-pencil or digital survey utilizing a 4-point Likert Scale.

Language Available: English (based on source material).

Population Group: Youths/Adolescents.

Age Group: Not explicitly specified, but generally applied to young populations in educational or research settings.

Population Details: Used in studies assessing attitudes, behaviors, and influences related to violence among youths.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate their level of agreement with six statements. Scoring uses a 4-point scale where 1 = Strongly Agree and 4 = Strongly Disagree. Items 5 and 6 are reverse coded. The final score is the mean of the item scores, ranging from 1 to 4. A higher score signifies a greater sense of civic responsibility.

Keywords

Attitude, Assessment Tool, Psychometrics, Nedwek BP, Flewelling RL, Research Triangle Institute, Reverse Coded Items, Youth Violence Prevention.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The original item was introduced by Nedwek in 1987. The expanded 6-item version was published in 1993 by Flewelling, Paschall, and Ringwalt. The scale is contained within a publicly available compendium published by the CDC, suggesting it is often used in non-commercial academic or public health research settings. The instrument can be found on page 130 of the CDC publication, “Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools.” The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf

Reference’s

1. Nedwek BP. Political socialization and policy evaluation: the case of youth employment and training program. Evaluation and Program Planning 1987;10:35-42.
2. Flewelling RL, Paschall MJ, Ringwalt CL. SAGE Baseline Survey. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute, 1993. (Unpublished)

Items of the Social Responsibility

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

1. It is hard to get ahead without breaking the law now and then.
2. If I want to risk getting into trouble, that is my business and nobody else’s.
3. I don’t owe the world anything.
4. What I do with my life won’t make much difference one way or another.
5. I really care about how my actions might affect others.
6. I have a responsibility to make the world a better place.