Evaluating Validity and Reliability of the Persian Version of "Mental Illness: Clinicians\' Attitudes " Scale among Final Year Medical and Nursing Students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: "Mental Illness Clinicians' Attitudes" scale version 4 (MICA-4) measures stigma towards mental illness in a wide range of healthcare professionals. The present study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of the Persian translation of the questionnaire. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 medical and nursing students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Four experts translated the studied questionnaire into Persian then into English using the forward- backward translation method. These translations were compared with the original version by a reviewer, and minor corrections were made to the Persian version. Ten experts revised the Persian version to achieve an acceptable content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR). Exploratory factor analysis was used to evaluate construct validity. Reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha. Results: Findings indicated the content validity of the scale was acceptable. The correlation coefficients between the questions and the total score were more than 0.4, except for questions 3, 6, and 12 (P<0.001). The scaling success was 13 out of 16 (81.25%). Exploratory factor analysis showed that the five-factor structure was appropriate for the scale. The internal consistency of the scale was appropriate (Cronbach's ɑ=0.67), and by removing question 12, this value increased to 0.72. The item-total correlation for all items was estimated to be > 0.2 in each subscale. Conclusion: The validity and reliability of the Persian version of the MICA-4 questionnaire were acceptable, and except for questions 6 and 12, the rest of the questions were suitable for measuring stigma. It is recommended that these two items be removed or revised according to the society's cultural and mental conditions.