Validity and reliability of Turkish version of the quality of life in bipolar disorder scale (long form)

This study was conducted to determine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the "Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder Scale- Long Form (QoL BD-LF). In the study which was carried out in accordance with the methodological research type, the QoL BD-LF was adapted to Turkish, its language validity was assessed, and the scale was put into final form with the necessary revisions. The sample of the study was composed of 100 patients who were diagnosed with bipolar disorder, were in remission period, and applied to a University Hospital, two State Hospital Psychiatry outpatient clinic. For the test-retest reliability, the scale was applied to 50 patients from the same sample group again 7-15 days later. Cronbach α reliability coefficient, item analysis and test-retest analysis were performed to evaluate the reliability of the QoL BD-LF. In the study, no explanatory factor analysis was performed and confirmatory factor analysis was carried out for the 14-factor structure in its original version and 12 of these factors were basic and 2 were optional. In confirmatory factor analysis, the fit indices of the subscales of the scale were found to be adequate and each subscale was individually at useable level. The total Cronbach α (0.925) of the scale and the Cronbach α reliability coefficient of 14 subscales were found to be at reliable level. Item total item correlation scores of the scale were in reliable range. Test-retest correlation was found to be statistically significant (p <0.001). As a result of the analyses, no item was omitted from the scale including a total of 56 items. Consequently, it has been determined that the validity and reliability of the scale are quite high and this is a scale which can be used to evaluate the levels of quality of life in bipolar disorder in Turkish population Key words: Validity, reliability, quality of life, bipolar disorder