Development and validation of the eco-reproductive concern scale.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Psychology
• Reproductive Health
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Climate change is a growing psychosocial stressor impacting future perceptions and reproductive decisions.
• Standardized tools are lacking for assessing eco-reproductive concerns in public health and nursing.
• This gap hinders systematic research on environmental influences on childbearing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a measurement tool assessing reproductive concerns and intentions within the context of climate change.
• To address the need for a standardized instrument in public health and nursing research.
• To provide a reliable measure for understanding the psychosocial impact of environmental crises on reproductive attitudes.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional methodological study involving 617 adults aged 18-45.
• Data collection via Personal Information Form and the Eco-Reproductive Concern Scale (ERCS).
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA/CFA), reliability (Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega), and validity (convergent, discriminant, construct) assessments were performed.

Main Results:

• EFA identified a 28-item, four-factor structure explaining 70.12% of variance.
• CFA confirmed the factor structure with acceptable model fit indices (e.g., CFI=0.909, RMSEA=0.074).
• The ERCS demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.946) and measurement invariance across gender.

Conclusions:

• The Eco-Reproductive Concern Scale (ERCS) is a valid and reliable instrument.
• ERCS can be utilized in diverse health research and clinical settings (public health, nursing, medicine, psychology).
• The scale facilitates a deeper understanding of how environmental crises affect reproductive attitudes and intentions.