Turkish Adaptation of the Ghosting Questionnaire and Its Impact on Relationship Satisfaction: Serial Mediation Effects of Negative Affect and Loneliness.

Abstract

Background: Ghosting is a prevalent phenomenon in contemporary relationships, impacting all individuals involved. A measurement tool, the Ghosting Questionnaire, has recently been developed to assess experiences of ghosting. The objective of this study was to adapt the Ghosting Questionnaire for use in Turkish.

Methods: The adaptation process involved applying confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance analysis by gender, and item response theory, as well as reliability, criterion-related validity, and predictive validity analyses.

Results: Confirmatory factor analysis affirmed the unidimensional, eight-item structure of the Ghosting Questionnaire. Measurement invariance analysis by gender indicated that the scale assesses the same constructs for both males and females. The results from the item response theory analysis demonstrated that the Ghosting Questionnaire possesses robust discriminatory power. Reliability coefficients indicated a high level of internal consistency for the scale. Additionally, ghosting was found to have significant correlations with various variables, including personality traits, positive affect, negative affect, loneliness, and relationship satisfaction. Notably, our findings revealed that negative affect and loneliness serve as serial mediators in the relationship between ghosting and relationship satisfaction.

Conclusions: The analyses confirm that the Ghosting Questionnaire is a measurement tool with strong psychometric properties.