The Turkish version of the İkigai-9 Scale: A validity and reliability study

Abstract The aim: İkigai, or well-being, has been associated with many positive outcomes in the physical and mental health of elderly people. In the present study, we conducted a validity and reliability study of the İkigai-9 scale in Turkish society and outlined its associations with facets of well-being.Methods: A translation, re-translation method was used to create linguistic equivalence of the İkigai-9 scale in the Turkish language. The correlations between the İkigai-9 Turkish version with the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale Short Form and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) were studied. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with volunteers regarding the scale. Data were saved in excel files and analyzed with SPSS (IBM SPSS for Windows, ver.24).Results: The findings confirmed the validity and reliability of the İkigai-9 Turkish version using 382 participants. The total scores on the İkigai-9 Turkish version were correlated positively with mental well-being and negatively correlated with depression, anxiety, and depression (p<0.05). Moreover, the total İkigai-9 Turkish version scores had a positive correlation with age (p0.05).Conclusions: İkigai and studies related to the concept of mental well-being should be widened and expanded across nations. These studies could be beneficial to healthcare providers to attenuate the impact of suffering from various diseases. We present the İkigai-9 Turkish version for further study in both in the national and international contexts that healthcare workers could compare their results in other countries.