Reliability and Validity of the Persian Version of the Professional Self Identity Questionnaire (PSIQ)

Abstract

Background: Professional identity is a vital component of medical education that affects the future practice of medical students. There is a notice of the lack of a reliable and valid Persian scale to measure the students' readiness for professional identity.Objective: This present study aims to determine whether or not the PSIQ can be adapted for Persian healthcare professions.Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among medical students (years of 4-7) in Shiraz medical school. A total of 175 students completed the Persian version of PSIQ using convenience sampling. Categorical confirmatory factor analysis (CCFA) and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were used to investigate the questionnaire's validity and reliability. Moreover, R.3.6.2 software, by using the lavaan and semPlot packages in it, was used for data analysis and the path diagram.Results: The indices of the goodness of fit of the model were used for the professional self-identity, which including root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), Tuker-Lewise index (TLI), and comparative fit index (CFI) ( RMSEA=0.055, CFI=0.996, and TLI=0.994). The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for these three factors of "profession-specific tasks," "generic attributes," and "inter-personal tasks" subscales were 0.762, 0.622, and 0.747, respectively (p-value<0.05). The internal consistency of the whole questionnaire measured by Cronbach's alpha was 0.873. The set of these fit statistics show that the hypothesized three-factor model fits the sample data. Therefore, all nine items were significantly loaded on the three domains (Profession specific tasks, Generic attributes, Interpersonal tasks). Conclusion: The Persian translated version of the PSIQ may be an appropriate, valid and reliable tool for assessing medical students' health professional self-identity attitudes in Iran.