Psychometric properties of sleep quality scale and sleep variables questionnaire in Turkish student sample

Abstract

Sleep is a physiological need that affects physical and mental performances. However, the number of individuals who experience problems related directly or indirectly with sleep is increasing in many countries. Therefore, it is important to have a short, reliable and valid measure to assess both sleep quality and sleep related variables in school-age children. This study aims to carry out the validity and reliability studies for the Sleep Quality Scale and Sleep Variables Questionnaire (SQS-SVQ) used to determine sleep quality, parental control, total sleep time, mid-point of sleep and sleep efficiency and to adapt it into Turkish. The SQS-SVQ consists of seven scale items to measure sleep quality and eight questionnaire items. The validity and reliability studies of the instrument were carried out on data acquired from 4th-8th graders. Factorial validity for SQS and criterion related validity analyses were carried out for the validity of the SQS-SVQ and correlations ranged from 0.51 to 0.73. These analysis results put forth that the scale is a valid measurement tool. Internal consistency coefficient of the SQS was 0.72 and test-retest correlations of the SQS-SVQ ranged from 0.67 to 0.88. These acquired results indicated that the scale is reliable. Meanwhile, gender measurement invariance was tested for SQS and results indicated that gender measurement invariance was established. These results have shown that the SQS-SVQ can be used in social researches and especially in educational studies.