Sosyal medya kullanıcıları için İkincil Travmatik Stres Ölçeğinin ergen versiyonunun geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması

Öz

Amaç: Sosyal medya kullanımının yaygınlaşmasıyla birlikte ergenler potansiyel olarak zararlı çevrimiçi içeriklere giderek daha fazla maruz kalmaktadır; ancak bu yaş grubunda ikincil travmatik stresi değerlendirmek üzere özel olarak geliştirilmiş ve geçerliği kanıtlanmış bir ölçme aracı bulunmamaktadır. Bu çalışma, başlangıçta yetişkinler için geliştirilen Sosyal Medya Kullanıcıları İçin İkincil Travmatik Stres Ölçeğinin ergenlerde geçerlik ve güvenirliğini incelemeyi amaçlamıştır. Gereç ve yöntem: Çalışmaya 13-18 yaş aralığında toplam 333 ergen katılmıştır; örneklem klinik ve toplum grubunu içermektedir. Klinik örneklem, çocuk ve ergen ruh sağlığı ve hastalıkları polikliniğine başvuran gençlerden; toplum örneklemi ise çevrim içi ortamda kartopu örnekleme yöntemiyle ulaşılan katılımcılardan oluşturulmuştur. Bulgular: Doğrulayıcı faktör analizi, düşük faktör yüküne sahip iki maddenin çıkarılmasının ardından üç faktörlü yapıyı (yeniden yaşantılama, uyarılma ve kaçınma) desteklemiş ve kabul edilebilir uyum indeksleri elde edilmiştir (CFI=0.95, RMSEA=0.06). Kısa Semptom Envanteri alt ölçekleriyle gözlenen güçlü korelasyonlar ölçüt geçerliğine kanıt sağlamış; ölçüm değişmezliği analizleri ölçeğin klinik ve klinik olmayan gruplar arasında uygulanabilir olduğunu doğrulamıştır. İç tutarlılık yüksek bulunmuş, Cronbach alfa ve McDonald omega değerleri 0.76 ile 0.89 arasında değişmiştir. Sonuç: Bulgular, İkincil Travmatik Stres Ölçeğinin ergenlerde sosyal medya ile ilişkili ikincil travmatik stresi değerlendirmede geçerli ve güvenilir bir araç olduğunu göstermekte; bu ölçeğin risk altındaki gençleri belirlemede ve erken müdahale girişimlerini yönlendirmede kullanılabileceğini desteklemektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Ergen
• sosyal medya
• psikolojik travma
• ruh sağlığı
• psikometri

Validity and reliability study of the adolescent version of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale for Social Media Users

Abstract

Purpose: Adolescents are increasingly exposed to potentially harmful online content as social media use becomes widespread, yet there is no validated tool specifically designed to assess secondary traumatic stress in this age group. This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale for Social Media Users, originally developed for adults, in adolescents. Materials and methods: A total of 333 adolescents aged 13-18 years participated, including both clinical and community samples. The clinical sample was recruited from the outpatient clinic of child and adolescent psychiatry, while the community sample was collected online using a snowball sampling method. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor structure (intrusion, arousal, and avoidance) after removing two low-loading items, yielding acceptable model fit indices (CFI=0.95, RMSEA=0.06). Strong correlations with Brief Symptom Inventory subscales provided evidence for criterion validity, while measurement invariance analyses confirmed the scale’s applicability across clinical and non-clinical groups. Internal consistency was high, with Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega values ranging from 0.76 to 0.89. Conclusion: Findings indicate that the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale for Social Media Users is a reliable and valid measure for assessing social media–related secondary traumatic stress in adolescents, supporting its use in identifying vulnerable youth and guiding early intervention efforts.

Keywords

• Adolescent
• social media
• psychological trauma
• mental health
• psychometrics

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