Gelişimsel Niş Ölçeği’nin Türkçeye Uyarlanması ve Psikometrik Özelliklerinin İncelenmesi

Abstract

Having studies that emphasize the mutual between evaluate the concept of developmental niche and its associations with different constructs is important. The scales that evaluate the family environment in the Turkish literature were examined, and a need has been observed for a scale that assesses the characteristics of the family context and developmental niche. For this aim, this study intends to adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Evolved Developmental Niche History (EDNH), a measure developed by Narvaez et al. (2016b). The study has been conducted in two parts to assess the EDNH’s psychometric properties. The first part of the study conducts exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and validity analyses. The sample includes a total of 314 university students, 224 (71.3%) of whom are female and 90 (28.7%) who are male. The participants’ mean age is 20.63 years (SD = 1.99). The second part of the study conducts a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) over a sample consisting of 327 participants, of whom 271 (82.9%) are female and 56 (17.1%) are male. The participants’ mean age is 20.86 years (SD = 2.65). The scale originally consisted of 20 items with one factor. The findings reveal the scale to have 19 items and four factors in the Turkish sample. The relationships the EDNH has with the Family Climate Scale (Gönül et al., 2018); the Parent-Child Relationship Scale (Aytaç et al., 2018); and the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (Methany et al., 1982) were examined to test the construct validity. The correlations between these scales and the EDNH were mainly moderate. These results support the construct validity. In addition, Cronbach’s alpha for the overall EDNH is .90 and ranges from .67 to .83 for each of the factors. As a result, the findings from the present study provide evidence that this scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool. The adaptation of this scale is thought to be able to contribute to the Turkish literature for studying the concept of developmental niche. EXTENDED ABSTRACT The concept of niche is widely used in conjunction with the concept of habitat in natural sciences and is used to describe the interaction processes of species within their natural environment. In this respect, the concept of niche contradicts the traditional evolutionary view of the concept of passive organisms and brings a very dynamic perspective to the field (Flynn et al., 2013; Stotz, 2010). With this perspective, the concept of niche becomes involved in psychological approaches that examine the developing individual contextually (Lerner, 2006; Super & Harkness, 1986). In line with all this knowledge, Narvaez et al. (2016b) introduced the concept of evolved developmental niche and developed the Evolved Developmental Niche History (EDNH) as a retrospective measure of early life experiences that includes questions about affectionate touch, corporal punishment, play, family togetherness, and positive and negative home climate. The scale evaluates the familial factors that can contextually affect development. In this respect, the scale corresponds to the current theoretical frameworks at the level of interaction between the individual and contexts. To the best of our knowledge, however, no adapted and/or developed instrument that specifically measures developmental niche by retrospectively evaluating family mechanisms is found in Turkey. The primary aim of the current study is to adapt the EDNH into to Turkish and to evaluate its psychometric properties.