Abstract

The sense of coherence is a salutogenic construct, defined as an orientation towards life. People with a high sense of coherence are known to have a better quality of life. Aim: To make the transcultural adaptation and to analyze the psychometric properties of the SOC-13 scale for its use in Chilean university students. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study, with a stratified sampling by proportional allocation of 238 university students who answered it online. Transcultural adaptation of the scale was carried out and certain psychometric aspects of it were analyzed; content validity, reliability analysis (internal consistency and split-half reliability), and construct validity (convergent validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses). Results: Adaptation of the SOC-13 scale to Chilean Spanish. For content validity, Aiken’s V coefficient was 0.83 [0.55-0.95]. Coefficient for internal consistency: alpha= 0.74 and omega= 0.76; Spearman-Brown= 0.675, and Guttman= 0.652, while alpha coefficients for dimensional reliability varied between 0.314 and 0.696. These values did match up to self-efficacy (r= 0.496; p= 0.01). These results were the basis for a three-factor model that explains 51.92% of the variance, with adequate adjustment indexes (CFI= 0.908; RMSEA= 0.067; SRMR= 0.066). Conclusions: The Chilean version of the SOC-13 scale has been made for easy application and comprehension, has been fully adapted to Chilean culture, and is reliable and valid for use in university population. © 2025 Sociedad Medica de Santiago. All rights reserved.