Validation of the Tromso Social Intelligence Scale (TSIS) in the Ethiopian Context

Abstract

This study aimed to validate the psychometric properties of the Tromso Social Intelligence Scale (TSIS) in its Amharic version. Employing a random sampling method, year three and above undergraduate public university students (n = 343) in the full-time academic program of Dire Dawa and Wollo universities participated in the study. We examined factor structure, model fitness, reliability, and validity of the construct. After removing two poorly functioning items, the result of exploratory factor analysis showed that the measure is a three-factor structure: social information processing, social skills, and social awareness. The result of the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that all the observed variables were significantly represented by their latent variables. A good model fit was finally obtained as indicated in a relative chi-square test (x²/df = 1.576), IFI = .968, TLI = .962, NFI = .917, CFI = .968, RMSEA = .058 (PCLOSE = .178), SRMR = .053. The explained variance ranged from 22.4% (social information processing) to 72.6% (social awareness). Internal consistency reliability of the social information processing, social awareness, and social skills factors yielded .94, .91, and .92 respectively. The average variance extracted (AVE) was also found to be .67, .66, and .65, indicating convergent validity. The square root of AVE was .82, .81, and .80, confirming the discriminant validity of the measurement model. The overall result of the study demonstrated that the Tromso social intelligence scale is reliable and valid enough to measure social intelligence among senior undergraduate students of Ethiopian public universities.