The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale – straight forwardly in patients with systemic sclerosis

Objective This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of Turkish version of Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale–Straightforwardly (BFNE-S (TR)) in patients with Systemic Sclerosis (SSc).Materials and Methods 35 individuals (mean age: 53.3±13.0 years) diagnosed as SSc were included. Data on demographics, were collected via structured interview. All participants were evaluated by same investigator. The disability was evaluated with Scleroderma Health Assessment Questionnaire (SHAQ), disease severity with Medsger’s Disease Severity Scale, and skin involvement with Modified Rodnan Skin Score. BFNE-S (TR) was applied to the patients with SSc who did not receive any treatment for test retest at one-week intervals. Results The one-factor structure was provided for all indices except Chi-Square. Factor loadings were significant. The patient responses to the BFNE-S (TR) demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α: 0.95). The floor effect (20%) percentage of patients who scored at floor level, was observed. Test-retest reliability of the scale was excellent with 0.91 (95%CI: 0.78–0.96). BFNE-S (TR) total score had positive correlation with SHAQ_Digestive (r=0.503) and SHAQ_Raynaud phenomenon (r=0.343)(p<0.05).Conclusions The BFNE-S (TR) is a reliable and valid scale and can be used for measurement of fear of negative evaluation in SSc.