Psychometric Validation of a Socio‑Emotional Competency Scale for Health Professions Education: Evidence from Latin American Physiotherapy Students

Background: Socio‑emotional competencies are essential for effective healthcare practice. Valid, culturally adapted instruments are scarce for Latin American physiotherapy students. Objective: To adapt and provide psychometric evidence for the De Souza & Faiad socio‑emotional competencies rubric among Latin American physiotherapy/kinesiology students. Methods: The instrument underwent cross‑cultural adaptation and content validation by three senior experts (Aiken’s V ≥ 0.75). The adapted scale was administered online to 709 students across nine Latin American countries. Item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with Robust Diagonally Weighted Least Squares (RDWLS) estimation were performed. Reliability (Cronbach’s α, McDonald’s ω), composite reliability (CR), average variance extracted (AVE), and measurement invariance by gender were evaluated. Results: Content validity was adequate (Aiken’s V ≥ 0.75). CFA supported the theoretical structure with acceptable fit indices (CFI = 0.93; TLI = 0.91; RMSEA = 0.06; SRMR = 0.05). The final instrument comprises 21 items across five domains. Internal consistency by domain ranged from α = 0.59 to 0.84 (ω = 0.60–0.84). Measurement invariance by gender was supported. Conclusions: The adapted De Souza & Faiad rubric demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties for use among Latin American physiotherapy students. Further studies should examine temporal stability, country‑level DIF, and criterion validity.