Mind the (Social and Emotional Competence) Gap to Support Higher Education Students' Well-Being: Psychometric Properties of the SECAB-A(S)

Today’s increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world of work, call for a socially and emotionally competent workforce. However, there is a clear gap in higher education settings when it comes to assess and promote students’ social and emotional competence (SEC). Our study aims to address the pressing need to evaluate and develop higher education students’ SEC, by providing a tool to assess these skills, enabling researchers and practitioners to intervene and actively promote them. A sample of 767 higher education students (62.8% female, M = 22.88 years, SD = 7.30) enrolled in the study. Structural, discriminant and concurrent criterion validity, and reliability of the measure was assessed. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis tested the relation of SEC and well-being. CFA supported the hypothesized factorial structures. Coefficient omegas indicated adequate internal consistency. Results also supported measure's discriminant and criterion validities against external measures. Multi-group invariance across gender and academic field was attained. We found evidence of the predictive role of intrapersonal skills on students’ personal and academic well-being. This study bridges a gap on research and practice by presenting a promising parsimonious tool for measuring higher education students’ SEC. It also highlights the supportive role of SEC to promote students’ well-being.