Horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism: An Italian adaptation of Singelis et al.’s scale and its relations with Conflict Management and Leadership styles

This study provides a contribution to the Italian adaptation of the Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism scale developed by Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk, and Gelfand (1995). It examined the relationships between Individualism and Collectivism attributes, Conflict Management, and Leadership Styles. Participants were 308 university students who filled out a self-administered anonymous questionnaire. The dimensionality and factorial structure of Singelis et al.'s scale was tested via confirmatory factor analysis and several psychometric limitations emerged. Subsequent analyses indicated that a three-factor structure, made up of Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and a single Collectivism dimension, with 21 indicators, fitted the data better and it was therefore retained. Positive correlations existed between Vertical Individualism, Conflict Management styles concerned with self interest, and the task-oriented Leadership style. Conversely, positive correlations emerged between Collectivism, Conflict Management styles characterized by concern for others, and the relationship oriented Leadership style.