MEASURING COMPLAINT ATTITUDE IN COLLEGE STUDENTS: SCALE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION

Abstract

A complaint attitude is defined as an evaluative disposition, comprising cognitive, affective, and behavioral components, that individuals express dissatisfaction in response to perceived injustices. Despite the relevance of complaints in academic settings, there is a lack of brief, validated instruments for assessing students’ attitudes toward complaining. This study aimed to develop and validate the Complaint Attitude Scale (CAS) based on the tripartite model of attitude. An initial pool of 11 items was developed from theoretical constructs and refined through expert judgment by seven specialists who rated each item’s relevance, coherence, and clarity on a 4-point scale. The Aiken’s V values ranged from .95 to 1.00, confirming strong content validity. Two independent samples were used: sample 1 (n = 110) for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and sample 2 (n = 328) for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The EFA identified four items with poor performance, and the CFA confirmed a unidimensional model with acceptable fit indices (CFI = .99, TLI = .99, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .02). The final 6-item model demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .89; ω = .85) and high factor loading (> .60). Graded Response Model analysis indicated high item discrimination (a = 1.35–2.87) and a balanced range of difficulty parameters (b = –1.15 to 1.76). These findings support the CAS as a psychometrically robust and theoretically grounded instrument for assessing college students’ attitudes toward lawsuits.