Development and validation of an attitude scale for assessing tribal women’s participation in PradhanMantri Van DhanVikasYojana (PMVDVY): evidence from southern Rajasthan, India

Introduction Tribal women play a pivotal role in the collection, processing and value addition of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) under the PradhanMantri Van DhanVikasYojana (PMVDVY). However, despite the programme’s growing importance, no standardized and context-specific instrument is available to assess tribal women’s attitudes towards PMVDVY. Therefore, the present study aimed to develop and validate a psychometrically sound attitude scale for measuring tribal women’s attitudes towards the programme. Materials and methods The study was conducted in the southern region of Rajasthan, India, which is predominantly inhabited by tribal communities. A total sample of 400 tribal beneficiary women was selected from Udaipur and Sirohi districts using proportionate and simple random sampling techniques. From each selected village, twenty tribal women respondents were chosen. An attitude scale was specifically developed for this study to assess the perceptions of tribal women towards PMVDVY. The scale construction followed standard procedures to ensure reliability and validity. Results The developed scale demonstrated satisfactory content validity through expert evaluation, and reliability analysis yielded a coefficient of 0.81, indicating high internal consistency and adequate representation of the attitudinal construct. The findings revealed that the majority of tribal women exhibited a favourable attitude towards PMVDVY. Aspect-wise analysis indicated strong agreement with statements such as PMVDVY being a significant boon for tribal communities and capacity-building training programmes motivating women to experiment with new products and techniques. Discussion The favourable attitude of tribal women reflects the positive acceptance and relevance of PMVDVY in improving their livelihoods. The aspect-wise findings further highlight strong agreement regarding the scheme’s role in enhancing income generation and socio-economic conditions. To transform favourable attitudes into highly favourable ones, training programmes conducted through Van DhanVikasKendras were perceived as instrumental. These initiatives have encouraged women to adopt skill-based, value-added activities, thereby strengthening their entrepreneurial abilities and promoting self-reliance.