PLANEA Independent Life Skills Scale: Development and Validation

Background: The aim of this study was to develop and validate the PLANEA Independent Life Skills Scale, an instrument created according to the Planea Program framework for training independent living skills in young people in residential care. Method: A sample of 1,098 young people took part, 60% were women and 37% were living in residential child care, with a mean age of 17.69 years (SD = 2.25). Psychometric analyses were carried out within the frameworks of Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory models. Results: The new instrument demonstrated three first-order factors (Self-Care and Wellbeing, Daily Arrangements and Organizational Skills, and Employment and Accommodation) and one second-order factor (Independent Life Skills), with excellent test score reliability, including a short version, PLANEA-9 (omega=.86 -.94). Clear evidence was found of validity in relation to other variables, such as general self-efficacy (r =.519), and discriminative capacity. Conclusions: The PLANEA Independent Life Skills Scale was shown to be a reliable valid instrument for assessing this construct in young people.