Validity and Reliability of the Korean Version of the Trauma-Informed Climate Scale-10

Abstract

Purpose: The Trauma-Informed Climate Scale-10 is a short form developed to efficiently measure staff perceptions of the values of trauma-informed care within the service environment. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Trauma-Informed Climate Scale-10 (K-TICS-10) among Korean nurses.

Methods: The K-TICS-10 underwent a linguistic validation process, including translation, back-translation, and expert committee review. Data were collected from 218 nurses in a tertiary general hospital in South Korea. Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach's α. Structural validity was tested through confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent validity was examined using Pearson's correlation with affective commitment and burnout. Item-convergent validity was evaluated to examine the internal structure of the scale.

Results: The Korean version of the TICS-10 demonstrated reliable internal consistency, with Cronbach's α of .82. The fitness of the modified model was acceptable (χ2/Df = 2.85, goodness-of-fit index = .92, root mean square error of approximation = .09, standardized root mean square residual = .08, Normed fit index = .88, Tucker-Lewis index = .88, and comparative fit index = .91). Convergent validity of the K-TICS-10 was confirmed by significant correlation with affective commitment (r = .56, p < .001) and burnout (r = -.53, p < .001), respectively. The average extracted variances (.34) and composite reliability (.81) indicated adequate convergent validity of the items.

Conclusion: The findings of this study support the satisfactory psychometric properties of the K-TICS-10, indicating its utility for evaluating the trauma-informed climate within the nursing work environment in Korea.