Adaptation of the Short Sense of Community Scale to Turkish and evaluation of its psychometric properties

Purpose: This study aimed to adapt the Short Form of the Sense of Community Scale (BSCS), developed by Peterson and colleagues, into Turkish and to evaluate its psychometric properties, validity, and reliability within the Turkish population, under the name "Short Form of the Sense of Community Scale" (TDO-KF). Method: This study was carefully designed and included 313 volunteers who applied to the Family Medicine and Psychiatry outpatient clinics at Manisa Celal Bayar University Hafsa Sultan Hospital and to Family Health Centers in the central districts of Manisa. Data collection tools included the "Introductory Information Form," the "Short Form of the Sense of Community Scale" (SF-SF), the "Psychological Well-Being Scale" (PSS), the "Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support" (MSPSS), and the "EUROHIS-QOL Quality of Life Questionnaire." In data analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient assessed internal consistency, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) evaluated construct validity, and Pearson correlation analysis examined concurrent validity. Results: The Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient for the TDO-KF, based on 8 items, was 0.882. Item-total correlation coefficients ranged from 0.461 to 0.786. Confirmatory factor analysis testing the original scale's theoretical structure confirmed that the four-factor model (Needs Fulfillment, Group Membership, Interaction, Emotional Connection) had good fit indices (CFI = 0.985, TLI = 0.970, RMSEA = 0.0693). In the concurrent validity analysis, the TSF-SF total score showed moderate positive correlations with the PFS (r=0.420) and the EUROHIS (r=0.419), and a low positive correlation with the MSPSS (r=0.238). In the known-groups analysis, individuals with lower levels of education scored higher on the sense of community. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the Short Form of the Sense of Community Scale (TDO-KF) is a practical, valid, and reliable 8-item instrument that effectively measures the sense of community in Turkish society. Keywords: Sense of Community, Validity, Reliability.