The Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the Fertility Desire Scale

Background: Rapid fluctuations in fertility rates in the world have created a demographic change process. It is necessary to determine the trend of change in fertility rates on the basis of countries. In this direction, it is seen that there is a need for a tool that can measure fertility desire. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Fertility Desire Scale, which was developed abroad to measure the desire for childbearing. Materials and Methods: This study, which was methodologically planned for language adaptation, was conducted with 547 healthy married individuals who met the research criteria and visited the general outpatient clinic of a state hospital between July 2021 and March 2022. Results: This scale was first translated and back-translated into Turkish to ensure language equivalence. Subsequently, expert opinions were considered and necessary corrections were made based on their suggestions. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis were conducted to determine construct validity. After the exploratory factor analysis revealed the factor patterns of the scale, six items were removed from the scale (due to low factor loadings) and the remaining 13 items were grouped into two sub-dimensions. The final scale was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.78. The test-retest findings also supported the reliability of the scale. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the Fertility Desire Scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can assess women's desire for childbearing.