A multidimensional sense of humor scale for school-aged children: Issues of reliability and validity

This is a methodological study and was performed to determine validity and reliability of the Turkish version of Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale for School Children developed by Dowling and Pain in 1999 and modified in 2003. The sample included 210 students aged 6-12 years and studying at Aydın Mustafa Kiriş Secondary School and Aydın Ticaret Odası Primary School. Expert opinion about content validity of the scale was requested from 10 nursing researchers specializing in pediatric nursing and the scale was revised in accordance with obtained evaluations. It is a Likert scale and is composed of 18 items. After the scale was tested for its linguistic and content validity, it was piloted study. Data were analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences 18.0. Explanatory factor analysis was made to achieve construct validity. The analysis showed a three-factor structure and the factor loads of higher than 0,30. Therefore, none of the items were deleted. Item-to-total correlation coefficients of the scale ranged from 0,147 to 0,638. Cronbach alpha coefficient, used to show internal consistency, was 0,90 for the scale and ranged between 0,788 and 0,842 for the subscales. In conclusion, the Turkish version of Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale for School Children is valid for Turkish children. Key Words: Humor, sense of humor, school children, validity and reliability.