Validation of Short-Form Scales of Self-Control, Procedural Justice, and Moral Foundations

Sean Patrick Roche, Heejin Lee, Justin T. Pickett, Amanda Graham, Francis T. Cullen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Self-control, perceived procedural justice, and moral foundations are prominent theoretical constructs in the criminological literature. However, existing measures of each are long. Long scales crowd questionnaires, increase cognitive burden, and lengthen completion times. Using a set of heuristic guidelines for scale construction, we develop short measures of self-control, procedural justice, and moral foundations and then test experimentally whether they can replace the existing longer versions. We conducted a series of split-ballot experiments with a national sample of American adults (N = 1191). Respondents were randomly assigned to receive the existing long scale or our shorter version. We then compared the scales on factor structure, reliability, and validity. The short scales performed as well, and sometimes better than, the longer versions. Our results suggest that researchers can use our short scales of self-control, procedural justice, and moral foundations in lieu of the existing long scales while maintaining data quality.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJustice Quarterly
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - 2024
Externally publishedYes

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Pathology and Forensic Medicine
  • Law

Keywords

  • crime
  • Measurement
  • moral foundations
  • procedural justice
  • public opinion
  • self-control

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