The validity and reliability of the emotional consequences of elder abuse scale for Turkish language

The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the 13-item Emotional Consequences of Elder Abuse Scale (ECEAS) among elderly individuals in Türkiye.

This methodological study was conducted in three phases: (1) adaptation of the scale to the Turkish language with a back-translation process, (2) content validity assessment by a panel of experts, and (3) psychometric evaluations including factor analysis, validity coefficient calculation, and item-total correlation analysis. The sample consisted of 145 elderly individuals aged between 64 and 88, recruited from the Atatürk University Health Application and Research Center Physical Therapy Clinic. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews conducted between September and December 2023. To ensure randomization, a lottery method was applied, selecting individuals whose citizenship numbers ended in odd digits. Inclusion criteria were individuals aged 65 or older, who were caregivers, and mentally competent. Data were gathered using a demographic information form and the Emotional Consequences of Elder Abuse Scale. The demographic form contained 14 items, while the ECEAS, which consists of 1 dimension and 13 items, was utilized to assess the emotional impacts of elder abuse.

Although the Emotional Consequences of Elder Abuse Scale had 6 factors in its original form, it was decided to have one single sub-dimension in the Turkish version. All fit index values of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis were found to be acceptable (x²/df = 3.13, p > 0.05, AGFI = 0.97, GFI = 0.98, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA = 0.022, SRMR = 0.075). The reliability coefficient of the Turkish version of the Emotional Consequences of Elder Abuse Scale was 0.911 and item-total correlations were between 0.54-0.79. In examining the suitability of the scale for factor analysis, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient was 0.896 and Bartlett's Sphericity Test result was x² = 1035.559 (p = 0.000). The factor loads of all items of the scale were above 0.30 and the explained variance was 49.737%. The factor loads of the model were found to be 0.33-0.83 and the t-value of all items was > 1.96 (3.86-13.26). In evaluating the internal consistency of the scales, reliability values were found to be 0.817 for the first half and 0.876 for the second half. Also, the correlation between the two halves of the scale was 0.791, the Spearman-Brown Coefficient was 0.883, and the Guttmann Split-Half Coefficient was 0.882.

The results showed that the scale is a valid and reliable tool to be used to determine the emotional consequences of elder abuse in Turkish elderly individuals.