Development, Validation and Standardization of the Future Uncertainty Scale for Youth (FUS-Y)

The present study describes the development and psychometric evaluation of the Future Uncertainty Scale for Youth (FUS-Y), a measure designed to assess perceptions of uncertainty regarding future events among young adults aged 18-30 years. An initial pool of 50 items was generated based on relevant theoretical frameworks and literature on future uncertainty, anxiety and stress. A panel of four experts representing psychology, sociology, research methodology and counselling evaluated the items for relevance, clarity, comprehensibility and appropriateness, resulting in the removal of 24 items. The preliminary 26-item scale was administered to a diverse sample of 500 university students and research scholars (250 males and 250 females) from various academic disciplines. Item analysis led to the deletion of five items with low corrected item-total correlations, yielding a final 21-item scale. The FUS-Y demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .917), representing an improvement over the preliminary 26-item version (α = .872). Exploratory factor analysis using principal components extraction with varimax rotation suggested a six-factor structure (KMO = .733; Bartlett’s χ²(210) = 6869.58, p < .001), accounting for 72.09% of the total variance. Factor eigenvalues ranged from 1.023 to 8.054. Descriptive statistics indicated a mean score of 66.39 (SD = 13.54), with acceptable skewness (-.278) and kurtosis (-.490), suggesting an approximately normal distribution. Normative percentile values (P10 = 49, P25 = 54, P50 = 69, P75 = 78, P90 = 81) were established to facilitate score interpretation and classification of future uncertainty levels from Very Low to Very High. The findings provide preliminary evidence for the reliability and construct validity of the FUS-Y and establish preliminary norms for its use. The scale addresses the need for a culturally relevant measure of future uncertainty among youth and may be useful in research, counselling, career development and youth well-being interventions. Future studies are encouraged to confirm the factor structure and examine the scale’s validity across diverse populations and settings.