Cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the Azerbaijani version of the Optimism Scale among university students

In a dynamic society, instilling a sense of positive attitudes is crucial. Yılmaz and Balcı's (2002) The Optimism Scale was translated into Azerbaijani and its construct validity and reliability were tested using a convenience sample of university students (n = 300, 18–24 years). cities. The sample was split for exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Findings showed cultural commonalities between Azerbaijani and Turkish societies, attested through shared factors such as religion and language. The scale showed high construct validity, high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha =.869; McDonald's omega =.867), and convergent validity (r =.41 with measures of happiness). It supports usability of the scale in Azerbaijan. Future studies should explore structural characteristics of the scale among different populations and age brackets.