Validity and reliability study of a Turkish version of the knowledge and attitudes towards antibiotic resistance

Abstract

This study aims to adapt the "Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Antibiotic Resistance Scale" developed by Alshehri and Khawagi (2025) into Turkish culture and language, evaluating its validity and reliability. It also utilizes this adapted Turkish version to assess the antibiotic resistance knowledge and attitudes of health sciences faculty students, examining how these variables differ across various sociodemographic factors. Designed as a methodological and cross-sectional study, the research sample consisted of 505 undergraduate students studying at Gümüşhane University Faculty of Health Sciences. During the adaptation phase, language, content, and construct validity were established alongside reliability analyses. To test construct validity, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted, while internal consistency was determined through Cronbach's Alpha and Composite Reliability (CR) coefficients. Additionally, item difficulty and discrimination indices were calculated for the knowledge test, and descriptive as well as comparative statistical methods were employed to analyze the collected data. In conclusion, the scale adaptation process demonstrated that the Turkish version of the instrument has satisfactory validity and reliability and can be confidently used among health sciences students. Furthermore, the field data highlight a clear need to strengthen educational curricula on rational antibiotic use and resistance mechanisms to foster greater awareness among students.