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I examined the validity and reliability of the Utrecht Homesickness Scale (UHS) in the cultural background of China by translating the original UHS into Chinese. The formal scale was formed through exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and checks of internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability. The pretest and formal test samples comprised, respectively. 436 and 687 freshmen from universities in China. The final Chinese version of the UHS had 20 items separated into five dimensions: missing family, loneliness, missing friends, adjustment difficulties, and missing home. According to the statistical results, the Chinese version of the UHS has adequate psychometric properties and can be used to assess the homesickness of college freshmen in China.
Keywords
homesickness, Utrecht Homesickness Scale, scale translation, scale validity, scale reliability, college freshmen
Homesickness generally refers to the longing for parents, family members, friends, and other familiar people and living environments, which is experienced by individuals who are away from home (Chen et al., 2019; Nauta et al., 2020). Studies have shown that as many as 75% of people have experienced homesickness at least once in their lives (Sun et al., 2016). Most university freshmen are away from their hometown for the first time and generally face homesickness, with 65% of freshmen reporting that discomfort with the new university environment affects their daily life (Biasi et al., 2018). Excessive homesickness can cause depression, anxiety, loneliness, grief, and even suicidal tendencies (Biasi et al., 2018; Gotz et al., 2019; Hendrickson et al., 2011; Thomas, 2020).
Researchers have developed measurement tools to assess homesickness from different perspectives. Archer et al. (1998) developed the Homesickness Scale, which focuses on college freshmen's perception of homesickness and bad emotions. The Separation Scale (Fisher & Hood, 1987) measures the discomfort of students when they adapt to a new environment, and focuses on the negative consequences caused by homesickness. These previous scales measured homesickness from a single perspective. However, researchers have since asserted that homesickness is a comprehensive concept involving all levels of an individual's old and new living environment (Stroebe et al., 2002).
The Utrecht Homesickness Scale (UHS; Stroebe et al., 2002) was developed to measure homesickness more comprehensively, making up for the deficiencies of previous tools. It consists of five subscales: missing family, loneliness, missing...