Czech version of the Self ‑Curiosity Attitude ‑Interest Scale (SCAI ‑CZ): Pilot study of basic psychometric properties for university students

• Main Authors: Martina Friedlová, Zuzana Vaculčíková Sedláčková, Daniel Dostál
• Format: Article
• Language: ces
• Published: University of Ostrava 2018-11-01
• Series: Psychology and its Contexts
• Subjects: curiosity; self-curiosity; scai-cz; psychometric properties; adaptive behavior
• Online Access: http://psychkont.osu.cz/fulltext/2018/18-2_Friedlova-Sedlackova-Dostal.pdf
• ISSN: 1803-9278; 1805-9023

Self-curiosity concept has been defined relatively recently. Aschieri and Durosini (2015) understand it as a characteristic trait that expresses an individual’s motivation to understand his inner world and his own psychological functioning and to discover new aspects of it. Self-curiosity is related to self-regulation activities, to general adaptability and to exploration of mindful feelin gs and sensations. The concept of curiosity and self-curiosity can be important in the field, when the work is based on self-understanding and internal motivation. In psychotherapy sessions, the client’s inner motivation or his desire to understand himself / his problematic situation are often necessary for the progress in therapy. Some of therapeutic approaches enable clients to increase their curiosity and self-curiosity that are needed for adaptive behaviour ad a congruence. From the therapeutic point of view, the disposition of curiosity and self-curiosity is directly linked to the Satir model of family therapy. Higher levels of curiosity and self-curiosity in patient or client could be an advantage for him / her in therapy. In the case that the psychologist would know the client’s level of curiosity in advance, the therapist could estimate the client’s approach to therapy and interest in it better. Then, the consequence could be the appropriate choice of therapeutic tools. One of the methods for measuring the concept of curiosity towards oneself is the SCAI (Self-Curiosity Attitude-Interest Scale), constructed by Aschieri and Durosini, which has been recently translated into the Czech language. The purpose of this study was to verify basic psychometric properties of the Czech translation of the Self-Curiosity Attitude-Interest Scale (SCAI-CZ) in the sample of Czech university students. The aims were to verify the factor structure of the instrument and to explore both the convergent and divergent validity and relialibility of the scale. The research sample was consisted of 296 Czech university students; 67 male students and 229 female students, aged 18–24. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to verify the factor structure of the Self-Curiosity Attitude-Interest Scale. CFA confirmed two-factor structure of the Czech version of Self-Curiosity Attitude-Interest Scale with the factors Attitude toward Self-Curiosity and Interest in Increasing Knowledge of Self. Omega coefficients were used as the estimates of reliability. Data demonstrated satisfactory reliability considering the number of included items, coeficient omega reached 0,711 for whole scale, 0,666 for the factor Attitude toward Self-Curiosity and 0,763 for the factor Interest in Increasing Knowledge of Self, resp. Cronbach alpha reached 0,676 for the scale. The limits of the study are the use of Beck's BDI-II for the divergent validity and lower dependency of the factors within the sample of university students. As the conclusion, the results of the study are satisfactory for the use of the tool, the convergent and divergent validity of the scale will be subject of further investigation of the research team, especially for a sample of Czech adults.