Measuring Strong, Skillful, Good and Transpersonal Will: The development of the Multidimensional Will Scale

TL;DR

This study developed a 19-item scale to measure different aspects of will, based on Roberto Assagioli's theory, for use in research and therapy.

Contribution

The paper introduces a validated multidimensional scale for assessing will, based on a psychological theory.

Findings

A five-dimension model of will was identified: Strong, Skillful, Good toward Self and Other, and Transpersonal Will.

The final 19-item scale showed good psychometric properties and invariance across genders and ages.

Reliability and external validity of the scale were supported through statistical analyses.

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to provide a scale to assess different aspects of the will based on Roberto Assagioli’s theory.

The scale development followed three steps. Step 1 focused on operationalizing the construct and developing the items. It was carried out through several phases of item generation and refinement, resulting in a pool of 38 items. At Step 2 we tested the psychometric properties of the initial 38-item scale with the goal of excluding the items that weakened the structural validity and reliability of the scale. Descriptive, internal consistency, and exploratory factor analyses statistics were computed on a large sample (Sample 1: N = 587; age: M = 21.55, SD = 4.14, 66% female) and they led to a five-dimension model (Strong, Skillful, Good toward Self and Other, and Transpersonal Will) and the exclusion of 15 items. Analyses conducted at Step 3 on a different sample (Sample 2: N = 683; age: M = 34.09, SD = 16.27, 54% female) allowed for further refinement of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis conducted on the resulting 19-item scale showed a good fit for the five-factor model (χ2 (142) = 507.63, p< .001, TLI = .91; CFI = .93; RMSEA = .06 [90%CI: .06‒.07]), and evidence of its invariance across genders and ages was provided. Reliability indices (internal consistency and intraclass correlation coefficients) were adequate (ranging from .66 to .83) and correlations with measures of related constructs supported the external validity of the scale.

This study provides researchers, therapists, and counselors with an efficient measurement tool to assess Assagioli’s construct of will.

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