Psychometric Evaluation of the Persian Version of the Chronic Illness Anticipated Stigma Scale (CIASS).

PURPOSE: The present study aimed to evaluate the cross-cultural validation and psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Chronic Illness Anticipated Stigma Scale (CIASS) among the patients with chronic illness in Iran.

METHOD: Following standard procedures, the questionnaire was administered to a total sample of 186 patients with chronic illness who were recruited from the referral hospital, including hospitalized and clinic outpatients plus several referral clinics. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were analyzed through intraclass correlation coefficient and Cronbach's alpha tests, respectively. Validity was evaluated in the areas of content and face validity, convergent, and also structural validity.

RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the reliability of the scale was 0.88.The results of explanatory factor analysis confirmed extraction of all dimensions in three factors, consisting of family and friends, work colleagues, and healthcare workers. Evaluating convergent validity using Spearman's correlations showed satisfactory results; the correlation between the domains of the CIASS demonstrated internal agreement of the measure determining additional evidence to suggest the validity of the Persian CIASS.

CONCLUSION: The preliminary study of the Persian version of the CIASS indicates good reliability and validity of the measure in Iranian patients with chronic illnesses.