Objective: Civic engagement during emerging adulthood (18–25 years) has been found to be a protective factor for mental illness and substance abuse. However, few measures to assess behaviors and attitudes related to civic engagement among emerging adults are available. This study investigates the factorial validity of a combined measure of civic behavior and attitudes in a sample of undergraduate college students. Method: Two samples of first-year undergraduate students at a private university completed an online survey during fall and spring terms. We investigated the factor structure of the Civic Mindedness and Civic Acts measures in two steps: (a) exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n = 226), and (b) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 352). Results: EFA revealed a 4-factor, 15-item structure that aligned with the original Civic Mindedness and Civic Acts measures; all factor loadings were greater than .40. CFA found the 4-factor structure to have marginally acceptable fit with no modifications (χ2(84) = 225.99, p < .05; RMSEA = .07 [.06–.08]; CFI = .92). Conclusions: We provide preliminary evidence for factorial validity of a combined measure of civic engagement. Implications for future research to confirm whether this measure is appropriate for broad use during emerging adulthood are discussed.

中文翻译：

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新兴成年人使用公民参与的综合措施

目的：在成年期（18-25岁）的公民参与被发现是精神疾病和药物滥用的保护因素。然而，很少有评估新兴成年人中与公民参与有关的行为和态度的措施。这项研究调查了一个大学生样本中公民行为和态度相结合的量度的因子有效性。方法：在一所私立大学的两个一年级本科生样本在秋季和春季期间完成了一项在线调查。我们分两个步骤研究了公民意识和公民行为措施的因素结构：（a）探索性因素分析（EFA; n = 226），以及（b）确认性因素分析（CFA; n = 352）。结果：全民教育显示出4个因素，15个项目的结构与最初的《公民意识和公民行为》措施保持一致；所有因素负荷均大于.40。CFA发现4因子结构在不做任何修改的情况下具有勉强可接受的拟合度（χ2（84）= 225.99，p <.05； RMSEA = .07 [.06–.08]； CFI = .92）。结论：我们为公民参与的联合量度的阶乘有效性提供了初步证据。讨论了对未来研究的确认，以确认该措施是否适合在成年期成年后广泛使用。我们为公民参与的综合量度的阶乘有效性提供了初步证据。讨论了对未来研究的确认，以确认该措施是否适合在成年期成年后广泛使用。我们为公民参与的综合量度的阶乘有效性提供了初步证据。讨论了未来研究的确认意义，以确认该措施是否适合在成年期成年后广泛使用。