Psychometric properties of the Turkish Form of the Experienced Unrealness Scale

This study aimed (i) to adapt the Experienced Unrealness Scale (EUS) into Turkish and evaluate its psychometric properties and (ii) to test whether the sense of unrealness explains unique variance in prolonged grief disorder (PGD) symptom severity beyond negative grief cognitions, avoidance, and demographic/loss-related factors. Participants were 728 Turkish adults (18-65 years) who had lost a first-degree relative 6 months to 5 years earlier. The EUS was translated using a translation–back-translation procedure and administered online (October 2024-May 2025) together with the PG-13-R, the Grief Cognitions Questionnaire–Short Form (GCQ-SF), and the Depressive and Anxious Avoidance in Prolonged Grief Questionnaire (DAAPGQ). Analyses included exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, correlations, and hierarchical regression. The Turkish EUS showed a one-factor structure (KMO = .89; 74.54% explained variance; item loadings=.79-.90) that was further supported by confirmatory factor analysis (CFI = .997, RMSEA = .071) and good internal consistency (α = .93). EUS scores were positively correlated with PGD symptoms (r = .63, p .001), GCQ-SF (r = .49, p .001), depressive avoidance (r = .39, p .001), and anxious avoidance (r = .47, p .001). In hierarchical regression, the sense of unrealness accounted for an additional 6.3% of variance in PGD symptoms over and above demographics/expectedness of death and GCQ-SF/avoidance, and the final model explained 70.5% of the variance (R² = .70). Findings support the Turkish EUS as a reliable and valid measure and indicate that the sense of unrealness uniquely contributes to PGD symptom severity, underscoring its relevance for research and clinical assessment in Turkish bereaved samples.