Turkish Validity and Reliability Study of the Negative Menstrual Attitudes Assessment Scale: A methodological study

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the Negative Menstrual Attitudes Assessment Scale (NMAS) in Türkiye. The NMAS is a scale that evaluates women’s negative attitudes towards menstruation.. Methods: This study employed a methodological approach and concentrated on female students registered in the Faculty of Health Sciences at a public institution from June to August 2023. The scale underwent a three-phase Turkish adaption procedure, comprising linguistic validity, content validity, and a pilot implementation. The pilot research had a cohort of 30 individuals. Following this, construct validity was assessed using Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Furthermore, assessments were performed to evaluate reliability, encompassing Cronbach’s α internal consistency coefficient, item-total correlation, test-retest analysis, and ROC analysis for determining cut-off scores. Results: According to the EFA analysis, which confirmed the validity of the 15-item scale, it was determined that no items had factor loadings below 0.30. The subsequent CFA analysis validated the three-factor structure of the NMAS, exhibiting good fit indices. The resultant 15-item scale consists of three sub-dimensions: Debilitating Event, Bothersome Event, and Natural Event. The internal consistency coefficient of NMAS, as determined by Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.861, 0.855, 0.784, and 0.772 for the overall measure and its sub-dimensions, respectively. Moreover, the item-total correlation and test-retest analysis of the scale demonstrate a robust association. Conclusion: A rigorous and accurate instrument has been created to evaluate unfavorable menstruation attitudes among women in Turkish culture. The scale demonstrated robust psychometric properties, confirming its validity and reliability for assessing negative menstrual attitudes in Turkish culture.