Translation and Psychometrics of Persian Version of the Stress Index in Nursing Students

Background and Purpose: Stress can be caused by the nature of nursing education and is a psychological factor that affects the academic performance and well-being of students. Since clinical education is the integration factor between theory and practice. It also strengthens critical thinking and decision-making skills. This study was conducted to determine the psychometric characteristics of the Persian version of the Nursing Student Stress Index (SNSI). Methodology: The SNSI questionnaire was translated into Persian using the standard method of translation and re-translation. It was then administered in a cross-sectional study to 408 nursing students of different levels using the available sampling method. Reliability was determined by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and test-retest repeatability. Construct validity was determined by exploratory (n=208) and confirmatory (n=200) factor analyses. Findings: The Persian version of this questionnaire has 19 items and three factors: 'expectations, communication and health', 'factors related to university' and 'leisure'. The total score of the content validity index (S-CVI) was 0.88. The fit indices of this three-factor questionnaire were in the order: RMSEA=0.11, CMIN/DF =3.7, CFI=0.93, GFI=0.79, AGFI=0.73. The intra-cluster correlation index (ICC) was 0.881 and Cronbach's alpha was 0.863. Conclusion: The SNSI has good validity and reliability in nursing students in Iran and this version can be used in future researches in the field of stress measurement of nursing students.