<![CDATA[Early adulthood is a developmental stage characterized by increasing social demands and interpersonal transitions, making the need to belong an essential psychological need. Although this construct has been widely discussed, a culturally relevant instrument for measuring the need to belong among Indonesian early adults remains limited. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a Need to Belong Scale for early adults based on three dimensions: sense of belonging, social inclusion versus exclusion, and quality of social relationships. A quantitative instrument development approach was employed using purposive sampling. Content validity was examined through expert judgment using the Content Validity Index (CVI), followed by a pilot study involving 30 participants to assess internal consistency. Construct validity was subsequently evaluated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) on data collected from 152 early adults aged 18-25 years living in the Greater Jakarta area. The content validation process retained 27 of the initial 30 items, while the pilot study demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.957). The CFA findings indicated that the proposed three-dimensional structure showed acceptable construct validity. Overall, the developed scale demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties and may serve as a useful instrument for assessing the need to belong among Indonesian early adults.]]>
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