Developing a scale for identifying coping strategies with stalking

Stalking is a crime that is becoming increasingly common worldwide. Studies have shown that stalking has many negative effects on victims, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. Therefore, coping with stalking is important. The aim of this research is to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure women's coping strategies with stalking. The validity of the scale was examined in terms of content and construct validity, while its reliability was assessed through internal consistency. After reviewing the literature, a pool of 26 items was created. For content validity, expert opinions were sought regarding this 26-item scale. Construct validity was evaluated using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). A 26-item scale was administered to 327 young adult women who are continuing their university education as part of the first study group, and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted on the obtained data. As a result of the EFA, a four-factor structure consisting of 14 items with factor loadings ranging from .66 to .81 was obtained. These four factors were named seeking help, downplaying, avoiding, and resisting. A 14-item scale was administered to 350 young adult women who are continuing their university education as part of the second study group, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted on the obtained data. CFA results showed that the factor loadings of the items ranged from .41 to .85 and that the fit indices values were at acceptable levels, confirming the four-factor structure of the model. The internal consistency of the scale was examined using Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient, and the reliability coefficients of the subscales were found to range from .64 to .79. Thus, it was concluded that the STBS Scale developed in this study is valid and reliable. Based on the findings of this research, recommendations for future studies were provided.