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. 2025 Jul 15;24(1):923.
doi: 10.1186/s12912-025-03587-8.

Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the emotional labour scale for nurses

Saeed Barzegari  1 , Elyas Hosseinzadeh Younesi  2 , Kurosh Jodaki  3 , Ibrahim Arpaci  4   5   6 , Negar Esmaeelzadeh  7 , Seyed Alireza Hasani  8
Affiliations

Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the emotional labour scale for nurses

Saeed Barzegari et al. BMC Nurs. .

Abstract

Background: Emotional labour plays a critical role in nurses' daily responsibilities and is deeply embedded in the fabric of professional nursing care. This study aims to assess the reliability and validity of the Persian version of the Emotional Labour Scale (ELS) for nurses.

Methods: The study population consisted of nurses working in hospitals in Amol, Iran, and a methodological cross-sectional approach was applied using a convenience sampling method. To assess the ELS, a back-and-forth procedure was utilized to translate it into Persian. Content and face validity were assessed, and exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted. Reliability was evaluated using McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

Results: As a result of the EFA, four items were removed, leaving a final selection of 14 items. The items were categorized under three factors: "Emotional Control Effort in the Profession," "Patient-Focused Emotional Suppression," and "Emotional Display According to Norms," which explained 61.70% of the total variance. CFA results revealed that the model provided a good fit for the study data (χ² = 131.788, df = 67, χ²/df = 1.967, CFI = 0.94, IFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.93, GFI = 0.92, PCFI = 0.69, PNFI = 0.66, and RMSEA = 0.067), and the subscales showed high internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.643 to 0.865.

Conclusions: The Persian version of the ELS with 14 items and a three-factor structure showed satisfactory validity and reliability among Iranian nurses. Its strong psychometric properties support its use for assessing emotional labour and informing interventions to promote nurses' emotional well-being.

Keywords: Emotional labour; Nurses; Psychometrics; Reliability; Scale validation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and informed consent: This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (Ethical code: IR.MAZUMS.REC.1403.419). The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and the principles of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments. Informed consent was obtained from all participants, and ethical considerations, including confidentiality and voluntary participation, were strictly observed throughout the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

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Fig. 1
The CFA results
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