Psychometric Properties of the Turkish Version of the Nighttime Fears Scale in a Clinical Sample of Children

Objective: Although nighttime fears are common in childhood, psychometrically sound instruments specifically assessing these fears are limited in Türkiye. This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Nighttime Fears Scale (NFS) in a clinical sample of children aged 8–12 years.Methods: This methodological validation study was conducted with 230 children aged 8–12 years attending a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic. Participants completed the Nighttime Fears Scale, the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale , and the Sleep Self-Report , while parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Construct validity was evaluated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega coefficients.Results: Exploratory factor analysis supported a four-factor structure consistent with the original scale, explaining 64.99% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated good model fit (X²/df = 1.449, RMSEA = .044, CFI = .976, TLI = .973, SRMR = .065). Internal consistency was high for the total score (α = .93; ωT = .94). Associations with anxiety symptoms and sleep problems supported convergent validity, whereas the absence of an association with prosocial behaviors supported discriminant validity.Conclusion: The findings suggest that the Turkish version of the NFS is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing nighttime fears in a clinical sample of children aged 8–12 years.