Adapting the socio-cultural adaptation scale (SCAS-R) to Arabic: A study on the Syrian migrants living in Gaziantep province of Turkiye

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the validity, reliability, and Arabic language equivalence of the Socio-cultural Adaptation Scale (SCAS-R) created by Colleen Ward and Antony Kennedy (1999) and revised by Jessie Wilson (2013). A sample group of 424 Syrian Migrants (18 years and older) living in Gaziantep province of Turkiye from different neighborhoods, economic status, and socio-demographic backgrounds are included in the research, and the scale is examined via commonly used validity and reliability analysis methods. It is obtained that the Cronbach's Alpha of the items is higher than 0.7 and the corrected item-total correlations are above the threshold value (0.2) in item analysis, nearly 69% of the total variance is explained by 5 factors in Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and the Goodness of Fit Indexes (chi 2/sd = 1.521, CFI = 0.958, and SRMR = 0.048) are within the good/acceptable range in Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). It has been understood that the SCAS-R is a valid and reliable scale for Arabic culture. The results of this study may provide a valuable tool for policymakers, researchers, and humanitarian workers studying migration issues.