The Sense of Coherence scale (SOC-13): Psychometric properties in the Czech adult population and general recommendations for the advancement of the scale

Abstract Our study examines the psychometric properties of the short version of the Sense of Coherence scale (SOC-13) in a representative sample of the Czech adults ( N = 498). In the introduction, we describe the general characteristics of the scale summarizing existing evidence about its psychometric properties in other populations and provide a brief overview of SOC-related research in the Czech Republic. We then examine the factorial structure of the SOC-13 and SOC-12 scales using confirmatory factor analysis. Further, we examine the differences in SOC-13 based on sociodemographic characteristics, and we test the convergent validity of the scale using the short form of the mental health continuum scale as a positive mental health outcome and the general anxiety disorder scale as a negative mental health outcome. SOC-13 showed an acceptable fit for a second order three-dimensional model with a specified residual covariance between items 2 and 3. SOC-12 showed an acceptable fit for a one-dimensional model and a second order three-dimensional model. SOC-12 models were superior to SOC-13. Based on our results and on the existing evidence, we make general recommendations for future advancement of the SOC addressing the heterogeneity in the formulation of the SOC items. Specifically, we recommend transforming the SOC scale into an inventory so that all items are formulated as statements rather than a mix of questions and statements. Further, we recommend using a single Likert-type scale response anchor with ascending format rather than multiple response anchors with altering regular and reverse-coded format. We apply our recommendations to the full SOC-29 scale and we provide its English and Czech versions to the researchers for further use and testing.