Social Responsibility and Roles Integration Paradigm for Security: Initial Development of the Social Responsibility Scale in Nigeria

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conceptualize, develop, and validate social responsibility scale. Methodology: These were achieved in this study through initial development and validation of a perceived social responsibility scale which incorporated the four categories of ‘persons’ who can render social responsibility. The initial 35 items generated through heuristic method were subjected to content validity, and subsequently subjected to exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency test. The 35 items were completed by 535 adults that volunteered to participate in the survey. Their ages ranged from 19 to 60 years; with a mean age of 29.44, and standard deviation of 3.32. Findings: The result of the factor analysis showed that 26 items loaded well under four factors (family, individual, community and government). These sub-scales also show convergent and divergent relations with prosocial behaviour scale and psychological adjustment scale respectively, strongly suggesting a viable instrument Unique Contributions to Theory, Policy and Practice: Based on the high validity and reliability of the developed social responsibility scale, it follows that social responsibility theory can be further elaborated to incorporate the role of individuals in societal development. It is further recommended that scholars should leverage on this insight and explore how to apply social responsibility and role integration theory to the understanding and improvement of peace, harmony, and economic advancement.