Abstract: Objective To test the reliability and validity of social emotional competence scale in Chinese adults. Methods Using an online questionnaire survey platform,a total of 1 321 adults aged ≥25 from various provinces and cities in China were investigated from January to April 2023. Two weeks later,74 of them were retested. Item analysis,exploratory factor analysis,confirmatory factor analysis,cross-gender and cross-age measurement equivalenceanalysis,difference analysis,and correlation analysis were conducted for the social emotional competence scale. Results The social emotional competence scale had good discrimination,with a total correlation between 0.453-0.712. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the revised scale with 23 items fitted the six factor model,explaining 65.9% of the total variation. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that it had a good fit[ χ²=606.534,degrees of freedom（df）=215,χ²/df=2.821,comparative fit index（CFI）=0.945,Tucker-Lewis index（TLI）=0.935,standardized root mean square residual（SRMR）=0.039,root-mean-square errorof approximation（RMSEA）=0.053]. The reliability of the revised scale was good,with Cronbach's α coefficient of 0.933,the partial reliability was 0.845,andreliability of retest two weeks later was 0.827. The scale was also proved to have good cross-gender and cross-age equivalence. The score of this scale showed significant differences in age,income,marital status,residence status,and physical condition. The scale and its six subscales showed good correlation with indicators such as loneliness,subjective well-being,and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Conclusion The revised social emotional competence scale has good psychometric characteristics such as reliability,validity,equivalence,and discrimination,and is suitable for the Chinese adults.

Key words: Social emotional competence scale, Reliability, Validity, Adults, Equivalent measurement, Mental health