Adaptation and validation to Spanish of the Psychological Capital Questionnaire–12 (PCQ–12) in academic contexts Isabel M. Martínez 1 & Isabella Meneghel 1 & Marcos Carmona-Halty 2 & Carolyn M. Youssef-Morgan 3 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Psychological Capital is a construct that is experiencing strong growth within the framework of Positive Psychology. In work contexts, it has been related to employee performance, wellbeing, attitudes, and behaviors. In educational contexts, particularly non–English–speaking contexts, there is hardly any research on this topic, mostly due to the lack of assessment and measurement instruments. In general, most studies use the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) by Luthans et al. (Personnel Psychology, 60(3), 541–572, 2007) as a measure. The purpose of the present study is the validation of a 12–item PCQ that is adapted to the academic context and translated to Spanish. A sample of 1126 undergraduate students from two different universities located in Spain (n = 596) and Chile (n = 530) participated in the study. The current study demonstrates –through reliability (alpha and omega indexes), single group and multiple group confirmatory factor analysis, and criterion validity (Pearson’ s correlations)– that the Spanish academic PCQ–12 is a reliable and valid indicator of academic psychological capital. Keywords Academic contexts . Psychometric analysis . Psychological capital The attention currently paid to educational systems is widely recognized, given that education provides the basis for per- sonal and professional development. Within the educational system, higher education levels are particularly relevant. High school and university levels, for example, are considered pre– professional levels because they prepare and develop compe- tencies that are pertinent to employment and career progress. In addition, according to Cotton et al. (2002), educational activities and expectations at these levels exhibit marked sim- ilarities to the workplace. For example, students are expected to follow a schedule, respond to certain programmed objec- tives, perform planned tasks, allocate resources, and achieve adequate performance. Furthermore, they need to engage in self–motivation, persevere, and independently find ways to overcome obstacles that may block them from achieving their goals, all while continuing to learn, grow, and remain physical and psychologically healthy. In recent years, research has revealed a large number of factors that influence students’ performance and well–being (Oswald et al. 2004; Richardson et al. 2012; Salanova et al. 2010; Schaufeli et al. 2002; Zajacova et al. 2005). Especially with the growing surge in Positive Psychology research and practice, there is a recognized need to take into account the role of personal characteristics and psychological resources as predictors of students’ academic success and wellbeing. However, the availability of measures that fit the educational context to assess these variables is of key importance to operationalizing and examining these important predictors, and subsequently designing and implementing effective strat- egies and intervention programs to promote student perfor- mance and wellbeing. This research was supported by Consellería de Educación, Generalitat Valenciana –Programa Prometeo (PROMETEO/2013/025); and Universidad de Tarapacá (UTAMayor 3747/18). * Isabel M. Martínez isabel.martinez@uji.es Isabella Meneghel meneghel@uji.es Marcos Carmona-Halty mcarmonah@uta.cl Carolyn M. Youssef-Morgan cyoussefmorgan@bellevue.edu 1 Department of Social Psychology. Universitat Jaume I, Avenida Sos Baynat, s/n. 12071, Castellón de la Plana, Spain 2 Escuela de Psicología y Filosofía, Universidad de Tarapacá, Avenida 18 de Septiembre # 2222, Arica, Chile 3 College of Business, Bellevue University, 1000 Galvin Road South, Bellevue, NE, USA Current Psychology https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00276-z