The Adaptation of the Perceived Obstetric Violence Scale in Students to Turkish Culture and an Examination of Its Psychometric Properties

Matern Child Health J. 2026 May 5. doi: 10.1007/s10995-026-04269-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Since the awareness of obstetric violence is generally low among individuals, many health professionals remain unaware of such incidents, even though they may witness them.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to adapt ‘The Perceived Obstetric Violence Scale in Students’ to Turkish culture, and to evaluate its validity and reliability.

DESIGN: The study has a cross-sectional design.

METHOD: A total of 222 midwifery, nursing, and medical students are recruited to the study. Random sampling was used, and data were collected using an online survey method. The reliability of the scale was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s α coefficient, two-half-test reliability, and item-total score correlation (Pearson) values. Confirmatory factor analysis and criterion validity were used to assess validity.

RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 21.59 ± 1.32 years; 82.9% were female, 44.1% were nursing students, 63.5% had never heard of obstetric violence, and 80.2% thought that women of different economic status were treated differently during labor. Within the scope of reliability analyses, Corrected Item-Total Correlation Values were calculated between 0.102 and 0.682, and Cronbach’s coefficient was calculated as 0.932. The results from the confirmatory factor analysis and tests of criterion validity support the validity of the scale’s original two-factor structure in the Turkish version.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study support that the Turkish version of the ‘The Perceived Obstetric Violence Scale in Students’ is both valid and reliable. However, some limitations were identified, suggesting that further validation and reliability testing with a larger sample size could be beneficial in future studies.

PMID:42084809 | DOI:10.1007/s10995-026-04269-w