Validation of Utrecht Homesickness Scale in Students

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Each year many students leave their homes to enter university. While the new life gives them new opportunities, at the same time it encounters them with challenges and stressful situations. One of the consequences of these challenges is homesickness. The first step in studying this phenomenon in Iranian university students is to have a valid and reliable instrument. The present study aims at validating homesickness scale. Method: After translating the 45-item Utrecht Homesickness Scale and checking its credibility by several experts, 360 freshmen (f=210) were selected randomly from Shahid Beheshti University dormitories and completed the scale. Results: Exploratory factor analysis was applied in order to analyze the data, which resulted in the Persian form of homesickness scale consisting 36 items. Despite the reduction of items, the constructions remained the same as original scale. Conclusion: The present study is conducted in order to validate homesickness scale in students living in dormitories. A 36-item scale was extracted which justifies 52.5% of the variance. Although 9 items were removed from Persian form, the number of factors remained the same as original form.