Attitude Toward Mediation Scale (AMS)

Abstract

The Attitude Toward Mediation Scale (AMS; Helsen, 2023) is an original inventory/questionnaire designed to measure attitudes toward mediation within the general population. The development of the AMS was based on a theory-driven approach, incorporating the three key subdimensions of attitude: emotion, cognition, and motivation (Triandis, 1971). The scale’s construction integrated existing attitude and mediation literature and adapted established measures to specifically reflect attitudes toward mediation. Initially, a pool of 27 items was generated. Through expert item analysis, this was reduced to a final set of 16 items, distributed among the three components: seven for emotion, five for cognition, and four for motivation. Psychometric evaluation was conducted on data from Flemish adults. Analysis of three nested models revealed that both the second-order and bifactor models provided an acceptable fit, in contrast to the single-factor model. The strongest support was found for a second-order factor structure of the instrument. The scale also demonstrated internal consistency. The authors suggested that further studies could explore additional validity evidence for the AMS, such as convergent and discriminant validity (Kazdin, 2003; Messick, 1995).

Keywords

Attitude toward Mediation; Cognition; Dispute Resolution; Emotion; Motivation; Public Opinion

Authors

Helsen, Valerie

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Purpose

The AMS is specifically designed to assess public opinion regarding mediation.

Validity

No specific validity evidence (e.g., convergent, discriminant) was indicated in the provided text. However, the author suggested that additional support for the validity of the AMS could be explored in further studies.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: The internal consistency of the AMS was reported using Omega coefficients. The values were ωEmotion = .84, ωCognition = .74, and ωMotivation = .84, respectively, indicating good internal consistency for each subscale.

Factor Analysis

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA): The CFA results indicated an adequate fit for the second-order model. Inter-factor correlations were high, ranging from .79 to .85. Standardized first-order factor loadings were moderate to high (0.41 to 0.82) and demonstrated the expected direction, suggesting strong relationships between the indicators and their theorized subdimensions of emotion, cognition, and motivation. Standardized higher-order factor loadings were also high (0.89 to 0.95) and in the expected direction, indicating strong and positive relationships between the three subscales and the overarching attitude factor. The analysis showed that 85.34% of the total score variance was attributable to the attitude factor, and 94.03% of the variance in the first-order factors was attributable to the second-order attitude factor.

Instrument: Attitude Toward Mediation Scale (AMS)

• Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire

• Format: The AMS is a 16-item measure. Items are rated on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). An average score is calculated for each participant, with higher scores indicating a more positive attitude toward mediation.

• Language Available: Dutch, English (Language Present).

• Population Group: Human (Male and Female).

• Age Group: Adulthood (18 years & older), including Young Adulthood (18-29 years), Thirties (30-39 years), Middle Age (40-64 years), and Aged (65 years & older).

• Population Details: The study was conducted in Belgium, with respondents from the general population aged 18-80 years.

• Test Methodology: Test Validity, Construct Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

Keywords

Attitude toward Mediation; Cognition; Dispute Resolution; Emotion; Motivation; Public Opinion

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Authors

• Author Name: Helsen, Valerie

• Author ORCID Identifier: 0000-0003-2466-8382

• Affiliation: KU Leuven, Leuven Institute for Criminology, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology

• Email Addresses: [email protected]

• Correspondence Address: Helsen, Valerie: KU Leuven, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Leuven, Belgium, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

• Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author.

• Commercial Use: No

• Fee: No

• Test Year: 2023

References

Helsen, V. (2023). Development of the attitude toward mediation scale. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 40(4), 447–465. doi.org/10.1002/crq.21380

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Items of the Attitude Toward Mediation Scale (AMS)

No data is Available