Attentional Control Scale- Turkish Version: Psychometric Qualities, Factor Structure and its Comparison with Behavioral Measures of Executive Attention

Öz

Attentional control refers to the capacity to voluntarily control attentional resources in a flexible manner. Attentional control was reported to play a fundamental role in self-regulation, emotion regulation, delay of gratification, and psychological distress. The Attentional Control Scale (ACS) was developed to measure perceived attentional control based on shifting and focusing dimensions. The present studies aimed to adapt the Turkish version of ACS and asses its psychometric characteristics. Study 1 aimed to explore the psychometric qualities of the Turkish version with a group of Turkish individuals (N = 428, 306 women) between the ages of 18 and 68 and supported the two-factor model of ACS consisting of 17 items in total. The results supported that shifting, focusing, and total ACS showed adequate internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity evidence based on its significant correlations with measures of anxiety, depression, and repetitive negative thinking, signifying its proper psychometric characteristics. In Study 2 (N = 97, 65 women), the association of ACS with behavioral attentional control measures was examined, and non-significant associations between self-report and behavioral measures of attentional control were denoted. These findings signified that rather than indicating the individual’s actual attentional control capacity, ACS assessed how the individual perceives their own attention control capacities. Taken together, the results suggest that the Turkish form of ACS is a valid and reliable scale that can be used to assess perceived attentional control capacity based on shifting and focusing domains, particularly in the research setting.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Attentional control
• shifting
• focusing
• psychometric qualities

Dikkat Kontrolü Ölçeği – Türkçe Versiyonu: Psikometrik Özellikleri, Faktör Yapısı ve Yönetici Dikkatin Davranışsal Ölçümleriyle Kıyaslanması

Öz

Dikkat kontrolü, dikkat kaynaklarını esnek bir şekilde gönüllü olarak kontrol etme kapasitesini ifade eder. Dikkat kontrolünün öz-düzenleme, duygu düzenleme ve hazzı erteleme kapasitesinin yanı sıra psikolojik sıkıntı belirtilerinde temel bir rol oynadığı bildirilmiştir. Dikkat Kontrolü Ölçeği (DKÖ), değiştirme ve odaklanma boyutlarına bağlı olarak algılanan dikkat kontrolünü ölçmek üzere geliştirilmiştir. Mevcut çalışma DKÖ'nün Türkçe versiyonunu uyarlamayı ve psikometrik özelliklerini değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma 1, 18 ve 68 yaşları arasındaki bir grup Türk bireyde (N = 428, 306 kadın) DKÖ’nün Türkçe versiyonunun psikometrik özelliklerini keşfetmeyi amaçlamış ve toplam 17 maddeden oluşan DKÖ’nün iki faktörlü yapısını desteklemiştir. Sonuçlar, değiştirme, odaklanma ve toplam DKÖ’nün yeterli iç tutarlılık, test-tekrar test güvenilirliği ve kaygı, depresyon ve tekrarlayıcı olumsuz düşünce ölçekleriyle yakınsak geçerlilik puanları gösterdiğini ve uygun psikometrik özelliklere işaret ettiğini desteklemiştir. Çalışma 2'de (N = 97, 65 kadın), DKÖ’nün davranışsal dikkat kontrolü ölçümleriyle ilişkisi incelenmiştir ve DKÖ’nün öz-bildirim ölçümleri ile davranışsal ölçümleri arasında anlamlı ilişkiler olmadığı görülmüştür. DKÖ, bireyin gerçek dikkat kontrolü kapasitesini göstermekten ziyade bireyin kendi dikkat kontrolü kapasitesini nasıl algıladığının bir göstergesi olma eğilimi göstermektedir. Sonuçlar bir bütün olarak ele alındığında, DKÖ’nün Türkçe formunun, değiştirme ve odaklanma boyutlarına bağlı olarak algılanan dikkat kontrolü kapasitesinin değerlendirilmesinde kullanılabilecek geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçek olduğunu göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Dikkat kontrolü
• değiştirme
• odaklanma
• psikometrik özellikler

Kaynakça

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