Adaptation and Validation of Learned Helplessness Scale in Chinese Law School Students

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to translate and validate the Learned Helplessness Scale (LHS) for use in the educational context and specifically among Chinese law school students. Understanding learned helplessness in the context of Chinese law students can provide unique insights into the interaction of legal education, psychological health, and cultural influences, thereby contributing to a more nuanced understanding of learned helplessness.

Methods

A total of 711 Chinese college students from two law schools participated in this study. The Learned Helplessness Scale (LHS) was translated into Chinese using forward and backward translation. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and construct validity were conducted to assess the dimensionality of the Chinese version of the LHS (Chinese LHS).

Results

The exploratory factor analysis indicated that the Chinese LHS has a four-factor structure consisting of 14 items, which accounted for 50% of the total variance. The subsequent confirmatory factor analysis further supported this four-factor structure. The internal consistency of the Chinese LHS was found to be medium to high, with Cronbach’s α values ranging from 0.63 to 0.87 for the subfactors, and 0.79 for the total scale. In addition, concurrent validity is also confirmed.

Conclusion

The 14-item version of the Chinese LHS is a psychometric sound instrument for assessing learned helplessness among Chinese law school students.

Keywords:

• learned helplessness scale
• Chinese
• adaptation
• validation

Data Sharing Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Ethics Approval

This study has been approved by the Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee of Qingdao University. In accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, all participants were fully informed about the purpose of the study and provided their informed consent.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

The present study was funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China: Youth Project (Grant No. 19CGJ005). This study was also supported by Suzhou University of Science and Technology and Qingdao University.