Scale Overview
The Olsen’s Political Alienation Scale – OPAS was developed by Marvin E. Olsen (1969). It is designed to measure Political Alienation. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 8 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Political Incapability, Political Discontentment.
| Factor / Subscale |
Items |
N |
| Political Incapability |
1,2,3,4 |
4 |
| Political Discontentment |
5,6,7,8 |
4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Agree, 4 = Strongly Agree.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 8 to 32. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Political Alienation: 8 – 16
- Moderate Political Alienation: 17 – 24
- High Political Alienation: 25 – 32
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not specified.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 3 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.