Development and validation of a socio-economic status scale for rural women farmers in Ogun and Ondo States Nigeria

Socio-economic status (SES) is a key determinant of livelihood outcomes among rural women farmers, yet existing measures often fail to capture the multidimensional and context-specific nature of rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. Conventional SES indices rely heavily on income or asset ownership and frequently overlook education, productive capacity, and informal household resources. This study developed and validated a culturally appropriate SES scale for rural women farmers in Southwest Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Ogun and Ondo States with a validation sample of 330 rural women farmers. Items were generated from literature, expert consultation, and focus group discussions, refined through pilot testing, and subjected to exploratory factor analysis and reliability assessment. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor structure, Material Assets, Modern Amenities, Demographics & ICT, and Infrastructure & Resources, explaining 41.5% of total variance. After iterative item reduction, a final 39-item scale was obtained, with all retained items loading ≥ 0.50. Internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from 0.75 to 0.92 across factors, with an overall alpha of 0.87). Preliminary known-group validity was supported by significant differences in educational attainment across SES groups, with respondents in higher SES quartiles demonstrating higher levels of education. However, sampling adequacy was modest (KMO = 0.612), and convergent/discriminant validity against external outcomes such as income or food security was not assessed. The SES scale provides preliminary evidence of contextual relevance and internal consistency, offering a multidimensional alternative to conventional asset-based indices. Nonetheless, its modest factor stability and absence of external validation indicate that it should be regarded as a preliminary research instrument. Further refinement and validation are required before application in policy or programmatic contexts.