Development and validation of the civil aviation occupational gender stereotype scale and its impact on professional identity and self-efficacy among chinese civil aviation majors
Abstract
Introduction This research aimed to develop and validate the Civil Aviation Occupational Gender Stereotype Scale (CA-OGSS) and investigate its associations with professional identity and self-efficacy among Chinese civil aviation majors, thereby providing an empirical foundation for fostering gender equality in the field. Methods In Study 1, an initial 15-item pool was generated and refined through a literature review, interviews, and expert evaluation; its factor structure and reliability were examined using exploratory factor analysis (Sample 1, n = 707) and confirmatory factor analysis (Sample 2, n = 1,465). In Study 2, the finalized 10-item CA-OGSS, alongside established measures of professional identity and self-efficacy, was administered among 830 civil aviation majors to test a moderated mediation model. Results The CA-OGSS demonstrated a stable two-factor structure, explaining 73.12% of the total variance in EFA. The final CFA model showed acceptable fit comparative fit index = 0.995; Tucker–Lewis index = 0.989; root mean square error of approximation = 0.072 [90% CI: 0.062, 0.084]; standardized root mean squared residual = 0.013), although the χ2/df value (6.77) exceeded the conventional cutoff. Reliability was acceptable. Path analysis revealed that gender stereotypes were associated with self-efficacy through professional identity, and this indirect association was moderated by gender. Simple slope analysis suggested that the association was negative among women but positive among men; the indirect association via professional identity was stronger among men than among women. Discussion The findings indicate that CA-OGSS is a valid and reliable tool and underscore the importance of gender stereotypes in relation to the outcomes of civil aviation students, suggesting that future interventions to promote gender equality must account for these differential effects across genders.