Development and standardization of irrational beliefs questionnaire (Iranian version) among students

Irrational beliefs can negatively affect both academic achievement and students' lifestyles, yet there are no native tools to measure it. Considering the importance of native and contextual tools, the purpose of this study was to construct and standardize the Irrational Beliefs Questionnaire (Iranian version).

This research was a developmental and exploratory research. The study population was all undergraduate and postgraduate students of Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch of Tehran in the first semester of the academic year 1398-98. 265 samples were selected from this community using stratified random sampling. A 109-item questionnaire was developed and completed by students. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the number of factors in the questionnaire.

The varimax rotation showed that the irrational beliefs questionnaire consisted of six components of self-esteem, irrational fears about self-esteem, irrational self-esteem, excessive sadness, belief in external control, and belief in external factors with 41 questions. Cronbach's alpha coefficient indicated that all components of the questionnaire were validated and the total reliability was 0.910. The correlation coefficient showed that the components of the questionnaire had acceptable internal consistency and also the correlation coefficient of the components of the questionnaire with the components of critical thinking showed that the questionnaire of irrational beliefs had acceptable convergent validity.

By constructing tools and identifying irrational beliefs in individuals, educational support, counseling and interventions can support many people.