The Turkish Adaptation of the Fear of Earthquake Scale

Abstract

This study was conducted to adapt the Fear of Earthquake Scale to Turkish. The methodological study, in which individuals in the 15-65 age group were included in the study, was carried out between March-April 2023. The sample consisted of 1054 participants 15 to 65 years of age divided into two for explanatory factor analysis (n = 431) and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 623). The original Fear of Earthquake Scale has a one, factor structure with 7 items. The explanatory factor analysis (EFA) sample had a mean age of 26.6 + 6.7 years. Over half of the EFA participants were women (65.1%) and single (69.8%). The Turkish version of the Fear of Earthquake Scale has acceptable content and construct validity. It consists of seven items without subscales. It accounts for 65.8% of the total variance, which is quite high for a single-factor scale. It has a Cronbach's alpha of 0.91, indicating high reliability. The original Fear of Earthquake Scale items are scored on a five-point Likert scale. No items are reverse-scored. The total score is the sum of the item scores. The total score ranges from 7 to 35, with higher scores indicating greater fear of earthquakes. The results indicate that the Turkish version of the Fear of Earthquake Scale is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to assess Turkish people's fear of earthquakes.