Development and validation of cohabitation intentions scale (CIS)

Abstract

The relationship between attitudes and behaviour is largely defined by intentions. The stronger the intention to engage in a behaviour, the greater the likelihood that attitudes will predict that behaviour. In order to predict cohabitation behaviour, both cohabitation attitudes and intentions must be measured. However, to the best of our knowledge, there appears to be a lack of standardized instruments that measure cohabitation intentions and only a few that measure cohabitation attitudes. We therefore set out to develop and validate a Cohabitation Intentions Scale (CIS) in Ghana. The CIS was developed and validated with an existing Cohabitation Attitudes Scale (CAS). The validation process was conducted in two phases: phase I with 226 respondents and phase II with 245 respondents, both from one of the public universities in Ghana. The phase I results necessitated changes to the wording of three items in the CAS and modifications to the rating scales for both the CIS and the CAS. The final instruments contained six items each which were rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Overall, the CIS and the CAS were found to be highly reliable and valid instruments in the Ghanaian context. These findings suggest that the new CIS can be used to measure cohabitation intentions alongside the CAS which measures cohabitation attitudes, and may predict future cohabitation behaviour.

IMPACT STATEMENT

An attempt to predict cohabitation behaviour requires the measurement of both cohabitation attitudes and intentions. Given the existence of instruments which measure cohabitation attitudes, there was a need to develop an instrument that can be used to assess cohabitation intentions. This is the first report of an instrument developed and validated to fill this need.

Keywords:

• Cohabitation
• attitudes
• intentions
• instrument development
• Ghana

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Daryl O’Connor, University of Leeds, United Kingdom

SUBJECTS:

• Gender Studies - Soc Sci; Urban Cultures; General Psychology; Psychological Methods & Statistics; Testing
• Measurement and Assessment; Social Psychology; Gender; Popular Culture

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Angela A. Gyasi-Gyamerah

Angela A. Gyasi-Gyamerah is a social psychologist and senior lecturer at the Department of Psychology, University of Ghana. Her research interests include sexual and reproductive health issues with a current focus on cohabitation and abortion decision-making. She has had several years of field experience working with street youth and commercial sex workers under the auspices of Streetwise Project-Ghana and West Africa Project to Combat AIDS and STI (WAPCAS) respectively. In 2017, she set up a social advocacy organization known as Dialogue Genitalia Ghana which focuses on creating safe spaces for the opposite sexes to discuss issues relating to sexuality and reproductive health.

Christabel Quansah

Christabel Quansah holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social psychology from the University of Ghana. Her research interests include gender and culture and its intersection with sexuality and interpersonal relationships. She is currently an instructor of Intercultural Communication and Leadership at the Council on International Educational Exchange, Ghana. Here she guides the students to explore the contemporary host culture through the lens of intercultural studies in order to easily assimilate into the host culture for a more wholesome, enriching experience.

Christopher M. Amissah

Christopher M. Amissah is the Rasch Measurement SIG Graduate Student Representative of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and a doctoral candidate in Psychometrics at Morgan State University. Chris’ research interests are in Rasch measurement models and culturally responsive measurement. His current research focuses on comparative evaluation of the stability and precision of Rasch models and Exploratory Factor Analysis using selected psychological and educational measures. Chris has several peer-reviewed presentations and publications in scholarly journals.

Kwasi Gyasi-Gyamerah

Kwasi Gyasi-Gyamerah has two decades of experience working with international students. He is currently the Regional Director of Operations for Africa and the Middle East at CIEE. Prior to this position, he had served as Center Director for CIEE, Legon Center based at University of Ghana since 2006. He holds a PhD from the College of Education and MPhil in Clinical Psychology both from the University of Ghana. He is a member of the International Programmes Advisory Board of the University of Ghana. He is also a member of the Ghana Psychological Association and the Ghana Psychology Council. His research interests are in how international students adjust psychologically and socio-culturally to academics and social life in Ghana’s tertiary institutions. He provides probono counseling and mentoring sessions for underprivileged and marginalized kids at an educational intervention organization in the city of Accra.