Testing the Psychometric Properties of the Turkish Version of the LGBT Community Connectedness Scale

Abstract

The feeling of belonging to a community that adopts a protective stance for the well-being of its members is an essential human need. It is well known that LGBTQ+ people experience more stress than other social groups because of discrimination, stigmatization, and self -stigmatization. Therefore, their connectedness to the LGBTQ+ community functions crucially in receiving social support. However, no study in T & uuml;rkiye has yet comprehensively investigated the community connectedness of people identifying as LGBTQ+. Thus, the current study adapted Frost and Meyer's (2012) LGBT Community Connectedness Scale to Turkish. This scale was designed to measure the connectedness of LGBT individuals to the LGBT community. The present study also tested the scale's psychometrics with a more wide-ranging sample of LGBTQ+ people by reaching out to a more inclusive group of participants (queer, diverse sexual orientations, and gender identity experiences). The criterion and snowball sampling techniques were utilized to recruit four hundred and fifty participants. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the factor structure of the scale for this study's sample, displaying an 8 -item and one -factor structure. The divergent and convergent validity of the LGBT Community Connectedness Scale was tested via the instrument's associations with the Multidimensional Social Support Scale and Stress Subscale. The internal consistency coefficient of the scale was evaluated as Cronbach Alpha .90. Thus, the LGBT Community Connectedness Scale was found to be reliable and valid for administration to LGBTQ+ people living in T & uuml;rkiye. The LGBT Community Connectedness Scale is a short, one -factor scale that is easily scored and applied. It is expected to improve research outcomes in T & uuml;rkiye because it is the first measurement tool employed in the national literature to assess the community connectedness of LGBTQ+ people.