Validation study of the Turkish version of disorder-spesific intolerance of uncertainty scale (DSIU)

There is a growing body of literature implicating that the intolerance of uncertainty is an important factor in development and maintenance of several psychopathologies. Therefore there are several scales developed by researchers yet only one of them assesses the intolerance of uncertainty construct as disorder-spesific. The aim of this study is to adapt the Disorder-Spesific Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (DSIU) developed by Thibodeau et al. (2015) to Turkish and to examine its psychometric properties in an university student sample. To assess the structural validity, principal component analysis (PCA) was used. Findings of principal component analysis showed that items loaded on 8 factors as in the original study. Item-total correlations showed that the 24 items are highly reliable and they are consistent with the integrity of the scale and also the items belong to the same structure. To assess concurrent validity the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS-12) and Patient Health Questionnaire – Somatic Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms was used. As expected, findings showed that total scores of DSIU subscales and total scores of the subscales of the IUS-12 and the PHQ-SADS are positively correlated. The reliability of the scale is assessed with Cronbach Alpha reliability analyses. Findings of internal consistency and test-retest analyses are showing that the scale is a reliable tool. In conclusion, findings implicate that the Disorder-spesific Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale's Turkish version is a valid and reliable tool.