Participation of Visually Impaired Individuals: The Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the Participation Scale Short

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the 13-item Participation Scale Short (PSS).

Methods: After the translation of the PSS into Turkish, a total of 73 visually impaired participants were interviewed face-to-face to complete the PSS and the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) concurrently. Two weeks later, 31 participants were reinterviewed to complete a secondary session of the PSS. Factor structure was examined by principal component analysis (PCA). Cronbach’s alpha was used for internal consistency, intra-class coefficient (ICC) was used for test-retest reliability, Spearman’s correlation coefficient between PSS and CIQ was used to examine convergent validity, the average inter-item correlation for discriminant validity, and floor and ceiling effects were used to examine the distribution of scores.

Results: PCA showed a three-factor structure with an explained variance ratio of 57.1%. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.832), test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.97), convergent validity (ρ = −0.84), and discriminant validity (average inter-item correlation = 0.32) of the scale were good according to predefined criteria in line with the literature without any floor or ceiling effect.

Discussion: The Turkish version of the PSS is a valid and reliable scale to assess the participation of visually impaired individuals in society.

Implications for Practitioners: Participation of visually impaired individuals in daily life was assessed using the Turkish version of the 13-item PSS.