Career Adapt-Abilities Scale–Short Form (CAAS-SF): Validation and Psychometrics Evidences Across Four Different Samples in the Italian Context

The Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) has recently been reduced to a shorter version (CAAS-SF) containing 12 items in different contexts and languages. Considering the extensive use of the instrument and the advantages of the short version in the long protocols, the aims of this paper is to validate CAAS-SF for the Italian context using a heterogeneous group in terms of age (Study I) and to test its validity (Study II). In the Study I, an exploratory factor structure analysis was carried out with an ESEM on an initial sample of 895 participants. In a second sample of 3200 participants (1392 males and 1808 females) aged 11–75 years (800 pre-adolescents, 800 adolescents, 800 young adults and 800 adults) the hierarchical factorial structure was confirmed by the CFA. Furthermore, a measurement invariance for sex and age group (configural, metric, and partial scalar) was confirmed. 4726 participants took part in Study II. The analyses confirm the construct, concurrent, and discriminant validity of the instrument. These findings support the use of the CAAS-SF as a valid and reliable measure to assess career adaptability in the Italian population in research and practice.