mohammad atari

MACH-IV has been extensively used in personality psychology. The present study aimed to translate and validate MACH-IV in Iranian context.

Following a standard back-translation technique, MACH-IV was translated into Persian. A preliminary discussion group with 20 students from university of Tehran improved the readability of the scale. A sample of 299 participants was recruited using snowball sampling method. Item analysis, factor analysis, parallel analysis, convergent validity assessment, and internal consistency evaluation were performed to ensure validity and reliability of the Persian version of MACH-IV. Dirty Dozen (DD) was used as a convergent measure.

item analysis suggested that 3 items (items 14, 17, and 20) did not have psychometric sufficiency in Iranian context. Remaining 17 items were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation. Parallel analysis suggested 2 factors to be retained. These two factors were labeled as cynical worldview and manipulative tendency. MACH-IV and its subscales converged with Machiavellianism subscale of DD strongly. Internal consistency coefficients of the two subscales and total MACH-IV were 0.73, 0.66, and 0.74 respectively.

the 17-item Persian version of the MACH-IV has adequate psychometric properties to be used in research and subclinical settings.

The present study aimed at examining worry, cognitive avoidance, intolerance of uncertainty, and metacognitive beliefs, as transdiagnostic factors, in clinical samples with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

In total, 200 patients (66 with GAD, 74 with OCD, and 60 with comorbid GAD and OCD) were selected to participate in this study using the purposeful sampling method. The participants completed the Penn State worry questionnaire, cognitive avoidance questionnaire, intolerance of uncertainty scale, and metacognitive beliefs questionnaire.

The findings showed no significant difference between patients with GAD and OCD in total scores of these constructs; however, the patients with comorbidity of GAD and OCD showed significantly higher scores in these measures (P<0.01) compared with the patients with GAD or OCD.

These cognitive factors are possible transdiagnostic factors shared between GAD and OCD. Moreover, they considerably increase when GAD and OCD co-occur.

 The comparison of physical appearance may play an important role in many body-related variables. The Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R) is a recently developed instrument for measurement of physical appearance comparisons in a number of contexts. The aim of the present study was to validate the Persian version of this scale.

 The scale was administered following a standard back-translation procedure. The sample consisted of 206 female university students. The Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), Life Orientation Test (LOT), Interest in Aesthetic Rhinoplasty Scale (IARS), and Body Mass Index (BMI) were used for assessment of concurrent validity. The factor structure of the scale was investigated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Analysis of variance (ANOVA), bivariate correlation coefficients, and one-sample t-test were used in SPSS software for statistical analysis. Effect sizes were also computed in comparisons between the Iranian sample and the American sample on which the scale was developed. Moreover, the reliability of the scale was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha.

 All items had adequate psychometric qualities in item analysis. The instrument was internally consistent (alpha = 0.97) and one-dimensional. It was positively correlated with BMI and interest in aesthetic rhinoplasty. Furthermore, PACS-R was inversely associated with optimism and body appreciation. Cross-cultural comparisons suggested that Iranian female participants had lower scores in physical appearance comparison.

 The Persian version of the PACS-R is a reliable and valid psychometric scale and may be used in clinical and research settings.

Zarei, Ghorbani, and Gharibi (2016) reviewed the construct of the Dark Triad in a review article. The current paper is a response to these authors. Hereby, we argue that the proposed translations of these authors into Persian language are technically problematic. In addition to shortcomings in literature review, Machiavellianism and psychopathy are not adequately addressed by Zarei et al. (2016). Importantly, as can be seen in their title, these authors claim that Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy are the abstract of scientific psychology in the last one hundred years. By providing historical evidence on the Dark Triad traits, we strongly counter these authors’ subjective opinion, suggesting that some of these constructs have appeared in psychological literature less than half a century ego. We do encourage scholars to research the utility of the Dark Triad in Iranian context, however, we simultaneously invite scholars to conduct exhaustive literature reviews. Iranian researchers who are interested to work in this area of study are also encourages to consider the limited number of works that have been already conducted on the Dark Triad in Iran. Finally, this response paper may provide a basis for Iranian personality psychologists who want to study the Dark Triad in Iranian culture to build upon.

Methodologically correct assessment of patient satisfaction (PS) plays a crucial role for quality-improvement purposes. Evaluation of Iranian literature on emergency department’s PS resulted in an emerging need for developing a new instrument with satisfactory psychometric properties. The present study, aimed to develop and initially validate a scale to measure PS in emergency departments. A sample of 301 patients was selected in 2014 from two hospitals in Tehran. A pool of 24 items was prepared for administering. An item analysis was conducted to evaluate the quality of each item. Validity and reliability of the scale were evaluated. The data were analyzed using SPSS. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis yielded in a 20-item scale in five domains named emergency department staff, emergency department environment, physician care satisfaction, general patient satisfaction, and patient’s family’s satisfaction. Validity and factor structure of the scale were reported satisfactory. Reliability coefficients of the domains ranged between 0.75 and 0.88. The findings of the present study provided evidence for psychometric properties of a newly developed scale for PS assessment in emergency departments. Five underlying components of PS were found in the item pool. In sum, this scale may be used in research and emergency departments to measure PS.

Patient satisfaction is a key feature of quality improvement in modern health care systems. The focus of patient satisfaction studies has been on inpatient satisfaction measurement. As such, valid and reliable instruments for assessment of outpatient satisfaction are lacking in the field. This study aimed to develop and validate a brief scale to facilitate assessing outpatient satisfaction. Based on existing literature and patient interviews, an initial pool of 20 items was generated. Item analysis and principal components analysis were carried out to evaluate the psychometric quality of items. Internal consistency of the instrument was evaluated by calculating Cronbach’s alpha for the whole scale and subscales. Results supported the appropriateness of all items. Moreover, principal components analysis using Varimax rotation yielded a four-factor solution. Reliability coefficients of subscales were within acceptable range. The existing brief 20-item scale was developed with four subscales of staff, physician care, clinial atmosphere, and overall satisfaction. Therefore, this brief scale may be served as a valid and reliable instrument in clinics, hospitals, and research settings.

Questionnaire-based survey is the most common way of assessing patient satisfaction. However, most relevant survey instruments have been developed in western countries, and valid and reliable context-specific survey tools in this area are lacking. To help filling this gap, in this study we have developed and validated the preliminary version of the novel Brief Inpatient Satisfaction Scale (BISS) to be used in an Iranian context. Initially 32 items were included by reviewing different aspects of patient satisfaction in the literature. A sample of 637 patients from Moheb hospital (Tehran, Iran) was surveyed for the purpose of instrument evaluation in autumn of 2013. In various steps of scale development, 6 items were discarded due to psychometric reasons. Content validity was examined by seeking experts’ opinions, the internal consistency reliability by Cronbach’s alpha, and the construct validity was tested using correlation analysis. A 26-item survey for measuring patient satisfaction in an Iranian context was developed. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a four-factor solution. The extracted factors were named physician care, nursing care, living arrangements, and communication. Two factors were perfectly loaded while two others showed cross-loadings. An internal consistency reliability of 0.91 was observed for the entire instrument. The subscales showed alpha coefficients of 0.85, 0.86, 0.75, and 0.71, respectively. The preliminary version of BISS could be used to evaluate patient satisfaction in an Iranian context with adequate reliability. Further improvement should focus on improving the reliability of living arrangements, and communication dimensions.