Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Short Behavioral Inhibition Scale

This study aimed to examine the Turkish version of the Short Behavioral Inhibition Scale (SBIS-TR) and to investigate its validity and reliability.

The original Short Behavioral Inhibition Scale (SBIS) was translated into Turkish in accordance with the prescribed procedures for the cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. This translated version was administered to 227 children and their parents, including children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS). After 7-14 days, a random sample of 98 children completed the SBIS again. Reliability and validity were assessed using statistical analyses. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and the test-retest method. Validity was evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis, mean score comparisons between CWS and CWNS, and correlations with the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire Parent Form-Turkish version (BIQ-TR) and the Communication Attitude Test for Preschool and Kindergarten Children Who Stutter-Turkish version (KiddyCAT-TR).

SBIS-TR demonstrated high internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of .86 and a test-retest correlation coefficient of .96. Structural validity analysis confirmed that the single-factor model fits the data well, with all fit indices meeting the accepted thresholds. SBIS-TR scores showed significant negative correlations with BIQ-TR and KiddyCAT-TR scores. No significant difference was found in SBIS-TR scores between CWS and CWNS groups (p = .235), with a median SBIS score of 15 for both groups.

The SBIS-TR demonstrated strong reliability and evidence of convergent validity; however, the results did not fully support its construct validity due to the absence of the predicted group differences between CWS and CWNS.