Development and Evaluation of the Arabic Filial Piety Scale

Abstract

Objective: To examine the validity and reliability of a new Arabic Filial Piety scale (AFPS) for use with informal Arab caregivers. Background: Filial piety, a term used to describe a set of family values in relation to parental care. This is the first measure of this construct for use with Arab populations in Israel. Method: A random sample of 250 informal Arab caregivers field tested a new AFPS (26 items in a 5-point Likert-type format).Validity and reliability tests were applied. Results: Principal component factor analysis extracted seven factors, which accounted for 58.8% of the variance: sacrifice; obligation; respect; face-saving; repay; intergenerational exchange; and family unity. The overall scale reliability was high (.83) with strong construct validity. Conclusions: The results support the unidimensional structure of the AFPS.