Developing a Scale to Measure the Tagasalo Personality

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a scale to gauge the extent to which a person assumes the role of a tagasalo, clarify the meaning of this construct, and which can be used to study concepts related to tagasalo, such as motivation and well-being. The study involved two phases- item generation and content validation, then pilot testing and exploration of dimensions. In Phase one it was found that tagasalo has 4 main descriptors: having a strong urge to assume responsibility, acting as a mediator, prioritizing others over self, and possessing an inclination to take care of others. In Phase two it was found that the tagasalo scale yielded two factors – taking care of other people, and taking care of the family. The two-factor structure explained 53.5% of the variance in the data. The scale had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.87, while the factors obtained good reliability indices of .85 and .78, respectively.