URDU CONSCIENCE SCALE: DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A CULTURALLY GROUNDED MEASURE OF CONSCIENCE

Abstract

The present study aimed to develop and validate a culturally grounded Urdu-language measure of conscience for use in Pakistani populations. Existing instruments for assessing conscience have predominantly been developed within Western cultural frameworks and lack relevance to the moral, religious, and collectivistic values central to Pakistani society. A pool of 40 items was initially generated based on theoretical foundations and expert review, and administered to a sample of 325 participants (131 males, 194 females; age range 18–30 years, M = 22.41, SD = 2.35). Reliability analysis of the initial pool yielded a Cronbach's alpha of .624. Item-total correlations were examined using a cut-off of .30, resulting in the retention of 13 items. Exploratory factor analysis via Principal Component Analysis confirmed a unidimensional structure, with one component explaining 29.46% of the total variance (Eigenvalue = 3.83). The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was .82, and Bartlett's test of sphericity was statistically significant (χ²(78) = 828.57, p < .001). The final 13-item Conscience Urdu Scale demonstrated good internal consistency (α = .794, M = 49.44, possible range = 13–65), with item-total correlations ranging from .764 to .790. These findings provide initial psychometric support for the Conscience Urdu Scale as a reliable and culturally sensitive tool for assessing moral awareness, reasoning, emotional response, and behavioral self-regulation among Urdu-speaking individuals. Future research should examine its validity and test-retest reliability across larger and more diverse samples.