Psychometric properties of the Iranian version of the attitudes to disability scale in people with physical disabilities

One way to gain insight into the social construction of disability is by examining the attitudes of individuals with disabilities toward disability itself. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Attitudes to Disability Scale (ADS) within a sample of individuals with physical disabilities. This psychometric study employed a forward-backward translation process to translate the general items of the ADS from English to Persian. The instrument's validity and reliability were subsequently evaluated. The face and content validity of the instrument items were assessed. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted to verify the factor structure of the ADS, based on data from 172 individuals with physical disabilities, aged 22 to 60. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to assess the internal consistency of the ADS subscales. Both the Content Validity Index (CVI) and Content Validity Ratio (CVR) for all items were found to be acceptable. The results of CFA revealed that the 16 items of the ADS loaded onto four distinct factors: inclusion (4 items), discrimination (4 items), gains (4 items), and prospects (4 items). The four-factor ADS demonstrated good fit indices, with a root mean square error of approximation of 0.054, a root mean square residual of 0.054, a comparative fit index of 0.93, a relative Chi-square (χ²/df) of 1.50, a Tucker-Lewis index of 0.914, and a goodness of fit index of 0.906. Cronbach's alpha values were 0.70 for the inclusion, discrimination, and prospects subscales, 0.73 for the gain subscale, and 0.76 for the overall scale. In conclusion, the findings indicate that the Persian version of the ADS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing attitudes toward disability among individuals with physical disabilities in Iran.