Adaptation of the Eco-Anxiety Scale to Turkish: A Validity and Reliability Study

Objective: This research aimed to adapt the Eco-Anxiety Scale to Turkish and conduct a validity and reliability study. Methods: The sample of this study consists of 698 individuals living in Turkey and participating in the study on a voluntary basis. The data of the research was collected online using the "Personal Information Form" and the "Eco-Anxiety Scale." In line with the data obtained, Cronbach's alpha value was examined to test the internal consistency of the scale, and exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used for construct validity. Results: The original form of the Eco-Anxiety Scale is a 4-point Likert type consisting of 13 items and 4 dimensions, and it preserves its original structure in this study. Cronbach's alpha value for the total scale was 0.91; it was 0.83 for the "affective symptoms," 0.86 for the "behavioral symptoms," 0.84 for the "rumination," and 0.84 for the "anxiety about personal impact." According to the results of the confirmatory factor analysis applied to test the construct validity (CFI = 0.97, NFI = 0.96, RSMEA = 0.06, and GFI = 0.96), the goodness of fit of the 4-factor structure was found to be at an acceptable level and satisfactory. The correlation results in this model regarding the relationship of the subscales with each other show that all of the subscales are positively and significantly correlated with each other (P < .01). Conclusion: In this study, it was determined that the Eco-Anxiety Scale, which was adapted into Turkish, is a valid and reliable measurement tool for measuring the eco-anxiety levels of individuals. Keywords: Eco-anxiety, climate anxiety, environmental degradation, climate change, global warming