Relational Needs Satisfaction Scale: reliability and validity study in Turkish

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Relational Needs Satisfaction Scale (RNSS) in Turkish, an inventory that was developed based on Erskine’s Relational Needs Model. Methods: The study was conducted on a sample of 561 people, which consisted of students from faculties of Medicine, Engineering, Law, Fine Arts, Health Sciences and Sports Sciences as well as employees from Faculty of Medicine in Kocaeli University. Reliability and validity analyses were conducted after analysis of the linguistic equivalence of the scale. The construct validity of the scale was investigated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R), Scale of Dimensions of Interpersonal Relationships (SDIR) and Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) were utilized to test convergent validity. To evaluate the reliability of the scale, test-retest correlation, Cronbach alfa and total item correlation were calculated. Findings: The five-factor structure and the hierarchical model was confirmed via CFA. Levels of fit indices were sufficient and acceptable for both the five-factor model (χ2/df=2.03, RMSEA=0.048, CFI=0.928, TLI=0.914, NFI=0.911, IFI=0.921, AIC=464.211) and the hierarchical model (corrected) (χ2/df=2.05, RMSEA=0.048, CFI=0.924, TLI=0.912, IFI=0.925, AIC=468.610). Cron-bach’s alpha reliability score was found to be 0.83, indicating that the internal consistency of the scale was high. The Turkish version of the scale contains 20 items just like the original one. Comparison of RNSS with ECR-R, SDIR and SCS revealed that convergent validity was ensured. Conclusion: In light of the findings, the Turkish version of the RNSS was concluded to be a reliable and valid measurement tool and it is suggested that it can be utilized in future research.