Environmental Sensitivity Scale for Social Workers: A Scale Development Study

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this quantitative study was to develop a valid and reliable scale to examine the environmental sensitivity of social workers, the Environmental Sensitivity Scale. First, the researchers created an item pool by considering the information in the literature. Then, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analyses were carried out. A total of 314 social workers practicing in the field in Türkiye (previosly referred to as Turkey) participated in the study. The EFA conducted for validity indicated an 11-item structure composed of two factors. The first factor provides information about environmental sensitivity in macro practices ; the second factor provides information about environmental sensitivity in micro and mezzo practices. The reliability analyses also revealed that the resulting structure was reliable. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients for the first factor, second factor, and total score were .830, .815, and .875, respectively. The developed scale can be utilized to figure out the attitudes of social workers about environmental sensitivity.