Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT).

OBJECTIVE: Of many instruments developed to assess Internet addiction, the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), an expanded version of the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ), has been the most widely used scale in English and non-English speaking populations. In this study, our aim was to investigate the psychometric properties of short and expanded versions of the IAT in a Turkish undergraduate sample. METHOD: Overall, 455 undergraduate students from Turkey aged between 18 and 30 participated in the study (63.53% were females). Explanatory and confirmatory factor analytic procedures investigated factor structures of the IADQ and IAT. The Internet Addiction Scale (IAS), Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) and Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) were administered to assess convergent and divergent validities of the IADQ and IAT. Internal consistency and 15-day test-retest reliability were computed. RESULTS: In the factorial analytic investigation, we found a unidimensional factor structure for each measure fit the current data best. Significant but weak to moderate correlations of the IADQ and the IAT with the CISS, OCI-R and DES provided empirical evidence for divergent validity, whereas strong associations with the subscales of the IAS pointed to the convergent validity of Young's Internet addiction construct. Internal consistency of the IADQ was weak (α=0.67) and of the IAT was high (α=0.93). Temporal reliability of both instruments was very high (α=0.81 and α=0.87; respectively). CONCLUSION: The IAT revealed promising and sound psychometric properties in a Turkish sample.

Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Adaptation of the Dream Reflective Awareness Questionnaire (DRAQ).

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this research was to adapt the Dream Reflective Awareness Questionnaire (DRAQ) to Turkish and to examine its psychometric properties. METHODS: In total, 378 college students participated in the study. The average age of the participants was 20.4 years; 56% of participants were women and 44% were men. After the scale linguistic equivalence was completed, the validity and reliability analyses were checked. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were utilized for the construct validity, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used for internal consistency reliability. RESULTS: In the exploratory factor analysis of the scale, unlike the original form, a 5-factor structure for 15 items was obtained, explaining the 71% of the total variance. The factor loads were between 0.61 and 0.88. Confirmatory factor analysis results confirmed the structure that was obtained from the exploratory factor analysis. The Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient, which was derived from the reliability analysis of the scale, ranged between 0.74 and 0.78. CONCLUSION: Based on the results obtained, we can conclude that the scale is a valid and reliable tool with sufficient psychometric properties.

A nationwide study of social-emotional problems in young children in Turkey.

We aimed to assess the prevalence of social-emotional problems of Turkish children in early childhood and to understand their association with various bio-psycho-social risk factors, in order to establish guidelines in planning training programs for parents and professionals. Data from a representative sample of 1507 boys (54.3%) and 1268 girls (45.7%) aged 10-48 months were collected. The primary caregivers (mothers=91.4%) completed the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and a form designed to gather information about various bio-psycho-social risk factors. Based on the caregiver terms, a total of 1626 children (60.1%) were reported to experience social-emotional problems. However, based on the BITSEA-problem clinical (1.5 SD) cut-off scores, 9.3% (9.1% of boys; 9.5% of girls) of all children were found to experience social-emotional problems. The variables, that showed a significant association with BITSEA-problem scores in pairwise comparisons, were entered in logistic regression analysis to determine the variables that predict the group with scores of above clinical cut-point. Higher total score of BSI of the primary caregiver, being separated from the mother for more than a month, and lower income of the family were found to be significant predictors of social-emotional problems. Caregiver reports highlight that maternal variables of mothers' psychological well-being, education and access to sources of support are closely related to the social-emotional wellbeing of their off-spring. The findings obtained from this study may be used for detection of prioritized domains in terms of management of preventive mental health services.

[Reliability and validity of Turkish translation of the pediatric sleep questionnaire]. / Çocuklarda Uyku Ölçegi'nin Geçerlik ve Güvenirligi.

OBJECTIVE: Aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish translation of Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ)-the extended version. The Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) has two versions: a shorter one, which has been validated for sleep-related breathing disorders, and an extended version, which deals with a wider range of sleep disturbances. METHOD: After translation and back-translation of the PSQ, it was filled in by the parents of 99 patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), 34 patients with Upper Airway Resistance and Snoring (UARS), and 42 healthy controls. Cronbach alpha was computed as a measure of internal consistency along with test-retest reliability and item-total score correlations. We used principal components analysis and varimax rotation to investigate the factor structure. The Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine cut-off points, sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values. RESULTS: Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.77 for the whole questionnaire. Similar to the original PSQ study, we found four factors, namely "Snoring," "Behavioral Problems," "Breathing Problems," and "Other Problems.". However, different items loaded to these factors. While the first three factors were reliable and valid, this was not the case for the last factor. ADHD patients had higher "Breathing Problems" score than the controls, while all sleep related problems were higher in the UARS group than the other two groups. Cut-off points obtained from the ROC curves indicated that when a PSQ total score of 6 points was used as a cut-off, UARS group and the controls could be discriminated easily. In order to discriminate the ADHD and UARS groups, using the "Total Sleep Problems Score", which did not include the "Behavioral Problems" factor, resulted in greater specificty and sensitivity. DISCUSSION: These results indicated that the Turkish version of the PSQ was a valid and reliable measure, that the PSQ total score could discriminate patients with primary sleep disorder from healthy controls, and that the "Total Sleep Problems Score", which was obtained by omitting the Behavioral Problems factor score, could be used to discriminate primary sleep problems from secondary sleep problems associated with ADHD.

Sinusitis in children and adolescents with chronic or recurrent headache: a case-control study.

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of misdiagnosis of sinus headache in migraine and other primary headache types in the children and adolescents with chronic or recurrent headaches. Children with chronic or recurrent headaches (n = 310) were prospectively evaluated. Data collection for each patient included history of previously diagnosed sinusitis due to headache, and additional sinusitis complaints (such as fever, cough, nasal discharge, postnasal discharge) at the time of sinusitis diagnosis, and improvement of the headache following treatment of sinusitis. If sinus radiographs existed they were recorded. The study included 214 patients with complete data. One hundred and sixteen (54.2%) patients have been diagnosed as sinusitis previously and 25% of them had at least one additional complaint, while 75% of them had none. Sinusitis treatment had no effect on the headaches in 60.3% of the patients. Sinus graphy had been performed in 52.8%, and 50.4% of them were normal. The prevalence of sinus headache concomitant with primary headache, and only sinus headache was detected in 7 and 1%, respectively, in our study. Approximately 40% of the patients with migraine and 60% of the patients with tension-type headache had been misdiagnosed as "sinus headache". Children with chronic or recurrent headaches are frequently misdiagnosed as sinus headache and receive unnecessary sinusitis treatment and sinus graphy.