Developing two different measures for assessing knowledge of and attitudes toward epilepsy for the Turkish population Nuran Aydemir Department of Psychology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey Received 9 April 2007; revised 27 June 2007; accepted 5 July 2007 Available online 31 October 2007 Abstract The aim of this study was to develop two new scales for assessing Turkish public’s knowledge of epilepsy and attitudes toward it. A 26-item knowledge scale and a 15-item attitude scale were first developed and then tested using a random selection of adults aged P18 n = 613) from different parts of Istanbul. After item and factor analyses of the knowledge scale, 10 items were omitted. Varimax rotation resulted in three underlying components that explained 35.7% of the variance. As a reliability assessment, the Kuder–Richardson-20 coefficient was 0.72. For the attitude scale one item was excluded after factor analyses. Varimax rotation revealed two underlying com- ponents that explained 46.31% of the variance. Cronbach’s alpha was found to be 0.84. Additionally, it was found that subjects with more knowledge of epilepsy had more positive attitudes toward epilepsy (r = .36, P < 0.01). Ó 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Epilepsy; Knowledge assessment; Attitude assessment; Scale development 1. Introduction Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that affects people of all races, ages, and genders. The incidence of epi- lepsy is approximately 10 in every 1000 of the general pop- ulation in Turkey [1]. Thus, there are approximately 700,000 people with epilepsy (PWE) in Turkey. Although epilepsy is a very common neurological condition, it affects the lives of patients not only through its neurological symp- toms, but also through negative social outcomes, for exam- ple, negative public attitudes, stigma, negative stereotypes, and social prejudice. Many previous studies have been conducted in many other countries to determine the level of knowledge of epi- lepsy and the attitudes toward it [2–6]. Additionally, in some countries, studies aimed at detecting the changes in both knowledge and attitudes were conducted after national campaigns, for example, ‘‘Out of the Shadows’’ [7,8]. Moreover, it is well known that knowledge of epi- lepsy and attitudes toward it vary from one culture to another [9,10]. However, until the present study, research aimed at detecting either the level of knowledge of epilepsy or the attitudes toward it among the general public or patients with epilepsy in Turkey has not been conducted. Therefore, it is not possible to detect the changes in both knowledge and attitudes. Additionally, all the previous studies reflect the attitudes and knowledge levels of Wes- tern culture. Although having the characteristics of both Eastern and Western cultures because of its geographical position and history, Turkey has unique features resulting from the combination of many different cultures that have thrived or are now thriving in Anatolia. Therefore, the knowledge and attitude scales used to date in Western countries are not precisely suitable for Turkish people. The purpose of the present study, therefore, was to design and test two different valid and reliable instruments—one to measure the level of knowledge of epilepsy and one to assess the attitudes toward epilepsy of adults—to provide us with an understanding of what Turkish people know and how they feel about epilepsy. 1525-5050/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2007.07.018 E-mail address: aydemirn@istanbul.edu.tr www.elsevier.com/locate/yebeh Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Epilepsy & Behavior 12 (2008) 84–89