Evaluation of Validity and Reliability of Persian Version of the International Proposal Questionnaires on the Study of Nonfatal Suicidal Behavior in Students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2018: A Descriptive Study

Background and Objectives: Suicide is one of the most important public health problems especially within youth population. Whilst Islam condemns suicide, suicide attempts among Muslim youths have been reported more than youths from other religions. Therefore, an international research project has been developed with the aim of determining nonfatal suicidal behavior in students within Muslim majority countries, including Iran. Since each effective evaluation tool such as questionnaire must be valid and reliable, the aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of these international research questionnaires in Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences students in 2018. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 700 students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2018. The content validity of the questionnaires was quantitatively investigated using the content validity index (CVI) and the content validity ratio (CVR). Confirmatory factors analysis was used to determine the construct validity. Reliability was also evaluated by internal consistency method and calculation of Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Results: The range of CVR for the second scale was 0.09-1, for the third, fifth, and sixth scales were 0.27-1 and for the fourth, eighth and ninth scales were 0.45-1. The fitting of the estimated model was also proved based on the results of the confirmatory factor analysis. The range of Cronbach's alpha coefficient was estimated between very well to acceptable. Conclusion: The results showed that the Persian version of the international proposal questionnaires on the study of nonfatal suicidal behavior had proper psychometric properties. Therefore, it can be used to determine the aspects of nonfatal suicidal behavior in Persian-speaking students. Key words: Suicide behavior, Muslim countries, Validity, Reliability, Students   Funding: This research was funded by Research Committee of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. Conflict of interest: M. Rezaeian is the Editor in chief of JRUMS. Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences approved the study (Ethical code: IR.RUMS.REC.1397.11).   How to cite this article: Najafipour R, Ahmadinia H, Rezaeian M. Evaluation of Validity and Reliability of Persian Version of the International Proposal Questionnaires on the Study of Nonfatal Suicidal Behavior in Students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2018: A Descriptive Study. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2019; 18 (8): 811-38. [Farsi]