Development and Validity-Reliability Analysis of the Cultural Bullying Scale: A Methodological Study

Background Cultural bullying, which encompasses discriminatory, exclusionary, and aggressive behaviors directed at individuals’ ethnic origin, language, beliefs, or cultural identity, constitutes a significant public health risk factor. At this point, the awareness of nurses, who constitute an essential part of healthcare services, regarding cultural bullying is of critical importance. Recognizing cultural bullying among nursing students is considered an academic and professional necessity in terms of developing cultural sensitivity, supporting equitable learning environments, and improving the quality of education and professional care. This study was conducted with the purpose of developing a scale to determine the level of cultural bullying in nursing students. Methods The population of this methodological type of research consisted of the first, second and third year nursing students of the Health Sciences Faculty of a state university in Türkiye who were registered in the school in the same semester and were currently attending classes. A socio-demographic data form and the Cultural Bullying Scale draft form, consisting of 23 items prepared in five-way Likert-type format, were used to collect research data. The construct validity of the scale was evaluated with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and its internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient. Also, Hierarchical Regression Analysis was performed in order to determine the variables reflecting the levels of cultural bullying. Results As a result of factor loading analysis, the scale was converted to its final form of 21 items by removing two items that showed overlap. The results of the factor analysis of the final 21-item version indicated a two-factor structure. These two factors explained 70.827% of total variance. The first factor explained 56.602% of total variance, and the second factor explained 14.225%. Examining the factor loads of the items, it was seen that each item loaded highly and clearly on a single factor. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was calculated as 0.949. Conclusion The Cultural Bullying Scale which was developed was found to be a reliable and valid scale instrument to measure to level of cultural bullying in nursing students.