Health index, sense of coherence scale, brief religious coping scale and spiritual perspective scale: psychometric properties

Aim. This paper is a report of a study to translate one Swedish and three English instruments into the Persian language, and to estimate their validity and reliability. Background. The Sense of Coherence Scale, Health Index, Brief Religious Coping Scale and Spiritual Perspective Scale are all well tested instruments for use in nursing research. Since there was no Persian translation of these instruments, they had to be translated and cross-culturally adapted for nursing research in the Iranian culture. Method. After the translation process, sampling for psychometric tests was done. A sample of healthy Iranian people (n = 375) was selected to response to the instruments in 2006, at baseline and 1 month later. Findings. Cronbach's alpha values and intra-class correlations were high (> 0.70). Tests of criterion-related validity showed that six of the ten hypotheses were confirmed, and the four rejected hypotheses did not imply a threat to validity. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that sense of coherence was the strongest predictor of well-being (Health Index scores) both at baseline ((beta) over cap = 0.52, P < 0.001) and 1 month later (<(beta)over cap> = 0.58, P < 0.001). Conclusion. There is a sound psychometric basis for using the Iranian versions of these instruments in nursing research with the Iranian population. The Sense of Coherence Scale proved to be as valid and reliable as in Western countries, which supports its cross-cultural applicability.