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Validity and reliability of the Lubben Social Network Scale-Revised (LSNS-R) on older adults in Turkey

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-R) on older adults living nursing homes in Turkey. The study included 120 older adults who were aged 65 and over (64.2% females, Mage = 78.84, SD = 13.21, range = 65–91). The language and content validity, construct validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the scale were tested. The Turkish version of LSNS-R had a high internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.94. In the test–retest reliability assessment, ICC was 0.95 (p < 0.001). In this study, the KMO value was found to be .857, which is considered very good. The factor loadings for the construct validity of the scale showed that this two-factor model showed acceptable fit to the data (RMSEA = 0.108, GFI = 0.872, CFI = 0.969, IFI = 0.969, RFI = 0.927, RMR = 0.107). In conclusion, these findings indicated that the Turkish-adapted version of LSNS-R is a reliable and valid instrument to measure social ties and social networks among older adults living nursing homes. The potential practical implication of the findings is that by using this scale, researchers can identify the isolated older adults. This can be an important step in the identification of vulnerable individuals who live in nursing homes.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Professor Dr. Lubben for him permission to use the LSNS-R and his help during its cross-cultural adaptation into Turkish.

Funding

This research did not receive grants from funding agencies in public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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  1. Department of Public Health Nursing, Hacettepe University Faculty of Nursing Ankara, Ankara, Turkey

    Nilgün Kuru Alici & Bilge Kalanlar

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  1. Nilgün Kuru Alici
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Contributions

Study concept and design: Dr. NKA1.

Acquisition of subjects and/or data: Dr. NKA1, BK2.

Analysis and interpretation of data: Dr. NKA1, BK2.

Preparation of manuscript: Dr. BK2.

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Correspondence to Nilgün Kuru Alici.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

In order for the study to be carried out, permission was obtained from the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services. Permission was also obtained from the Ethics Committee of Hacettepe University (35853172–604.01).

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Participation in the study was voluntary, and written consent was obtained from the participants. The participants were informed verbally and in written form that they could withdraw from the study any time without giving any reason. For the validity and reliability study of the LSNS-R scale, written permission was obtained from Professor Lubben, who developed the scale. Guidelines for reporting reliability and agreement studies (GRRAS) checklist was used to enhance the quality and transparency of this research (Kottner et al. 2011).

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Kuru Alici, N., Kalanlar, B. Validity and reliability of the Lubben Social Network Scale-Revised (LSNS-R) on older adults in Turkey. Curr Psychol 40, 21–28 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01125-0

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