Psychometric properties of a Turkish version of the social activities scale for community-dwelling older people requiring support

Abstract

Background: Social activities decelerate the deterioration of mental capacity in older people and improve their physical and psychosocial health. Valid and reliable measurement tools are needed to determine the social activity status of older people and plan health services to protect their mental health.Objective: This study aimed to adapt the Social Activities Scale for Community-Dwelling Older People Requiring Support (SASOS) into Turkish.Methods: This methodological study was conducted in Northern Cyprus between January and June 2022. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 155 community-dwelling older people who needed support. Expert opinion, item-content validity index, and scale-content validity index were used to evaluate content validity. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability tests were used to evaluate reliability. Exploratory factor analysis was used to evaluate construct validity. The Loneliness Scale for Elderly was used to evaluate concurrent validity.Results: The Cronbach's alpha of SASOS was 0.90. Additionally, correlation coefficients of all items ranged between 0.61 and 0.79. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure. 'Interactions with friends and neighbors' was the factor that explained the highest variance (46%). There was a negative, weak, and statistically significant relationship between the scores obtained from the social loneliness subscale of LSE and all three subscales of SASOS.Conclusions: The Turkish version of SASOS is a valid, reliable instrument to evaluate social activities in community-dwelling older people who needed support.Implications for practice: The SASOS has been identified as a valuable measure for assessing the social support needs of older individuals. It serves as a guide for both planning and evaluating interventions to enhance their health.