Avoidance of Volunteering in Disasters Scale: A Scale Development and Validity Study (Methodological Study)

Objective: Volunteers are a critical resource in disaster preparedness and response. This study aims to develop a valid and re liable measurement tool that can assess the reasons behind university students’ reluctance to volunteer in disaster situation. Material and Methods: The study was conducted using an exploratory sequential mixed method design. As a result of the thematic analysis of the semi structured interviews, seven themes were identified, and 81 items were formed. The items whose content validity was evaluated with the Law she technique were reduced to 64 and tested in a pilot study and nec essary adjustments were made. The final scale was applied to a sample group of 731 people who met certain criteria. The data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 24.0 programs. Results: The scale was found suitable for factor analysis according to Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (>0.60) and Bartlett’s test (p<0.05) results. As a result of exploratory factor analysis, 32 items with low factor loadings (<0.33) and over lapping content were eliminated; confirmatory factor analysis con firmed the structure of the scale consisting of 6 factors and 31 items. The fit indices (χ²/df=3.069, Comparative Fit Index=0.933, Goodness of Fit Index=0.893, Incremental Fit Index=0.933, Tucker-Lewis Index=0.925, root mean square error of approximation=0.053) were found to be acceptable. The Cronbach alpha value of the scale was 0.92 in total and ranged between 0.75 and 0.93 for the sub-dimensions. Conclusion: The developed scale stands out as a valid and reliable tool for assessing university students’ reluctance towards disaster vol unteering.