Developing two different measures for assessing knowledge of and attitudes toward epilepsy for the Turkish population

Aydemir N.

EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR, vol.12, no.1, pp.84-89, 2008 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 12 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2008
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2007.07.018
  • Journal Name: EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.84-89
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop two new scales for assessing Turkish public's knowledge of epilepsy and attitudes toward it. A 26-item knowledge scale and a 15-item attitude scale were first developed and then tested using a random selection of adults aged >= 18 n = 613) from different parts of Istanbul. After item and factor analyses of the knowledge scale, 10 items were omitted. Varimax rotation resulted in three underlying components that explained 35.7% of the variance. As a reliability assessment, the Kuder-Richardson-20 coefficient was 0.72. For the attitude scale one item was excluded after factor analyses. Varimax rotation revealed two underlying components that explained 46.31% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha was found to be 0.84. Additionally, it was found that subjects with more knowledge of epilepsy had more positive attitudes toward epilepsy (r = .36, P < 0.01). (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.