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. 2024 Dec 23;24(1):1517.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-06528-2.

Psychometric assessment of the persian version of the study anxiety questionnaire in medical sciences students

Seyedmohammad Mirhosseini  1 , Fatemeh Ameri  2 , Hedie Rahmani  2 , Hamid Sharif-Nia  3   4 , Ghazal Fazel  5 , Mahboobeh Khajeh  6 , Hossein Ebrahimi  7
Affiliations

Psychometric assessment of the persian version of the study anxiety questionnaire in medical sciences students

Seyedmohammad Mirhosseini et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Study Anxiety Questionnaire (SAQ).

Methods: This methodological study was conducted in 2024 among 380 medical sciences students at Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The face and content validity of the questionnaire were assessed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches following a forward-backward translation process. After confirming the adequacy of the sample, explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed. Convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated using the average variance extracted (AVE), maximum shared squared variance (MSV), composite reliability (CR) values and Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) ratio. To determine reliability, internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and Macdonald's omega coefficients, while stability was measured using the intraclass correlation coefficient.

Results: No items were removed during the content validity phase. The Maximum Likelihood Exploratory Factor Analysis (MLEFA) identified four components of the SAQ (Motivational, Academic anxiety, Cognitive, and Test anxiety) comprising 19 items in total, which collectively accounted for 51.42% of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis results indicated a good fit for the 19-item model of the questionnaire. The AVE, CR, and HTMT values indicate acceptable levels of convergent and discriminant validity. The Cronbach's alpha, Macdonald's omega, and intraclass correlation coefficients were all within acceptable ranges, indicating strong internal consistency and stability for the Persian version of the SAQ.

Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that the Persian version of the SAQ possesses sufficient validity and reliability for assessing study anxiety among Iranian medical sciences students.

Keywords: Psychometric; Reliability; Student; Study anxiety; Validity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was carried out in compliance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Council for Biomedical Research at Shahroud University of Medical Sciences (Approval Number: IR.SHMU.REC.1402.033). Prior to the study’s commencement, participants were thoroughly informed about its objectives and the terms of their involvement. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant. The authors adhered to the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in disseminating their findings. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scree plot for factors through exploratory factor analysis of SAQ
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The final model of the SAQ based on CFA (N = 190)
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