Validation of the Electronic form of the Revised Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (OCI-R) in Students During the Coronavirus Crisis: A Descriptive Study

The outbreak of coronavirus has affected the use of paper-based tools due to the risk of disease transmission. Therefore, validating the online form of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) scale can help solve the problems in this area. The aim of the present study was to determine and evaluate the validity of the electronic form of the OCI-R scale in students during the coronavirus crisis.

The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with the purpose of test validation. The statistical population consisted of all students of Islamic Azad University of Tehran in 2022. The sample size was determined based on psychometric criteria as 100 people for the convergent validity section and 501 people for the construct validity section. The samples were selected by random cluster sampling method. After obtaining the necessary permissions and informed consent, the research data were collected through two scales of Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (OCI) and Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Hajson and Rachman in both paper and electronic forms by sending the questionnaire link to the participants' mobile phones. To assess the validity of the scale, content, convergent and factor analysis methods were used. The reliability of the scale was evaluated by internal consistency and split-half methods. The collected data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis tests.

The results indicated that the OCI-R questionnaire consists of six factors and had appropriate content, concurrent and construct validity. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the whole scale was 0.81 and for the subscales it ranged from 0.70 to 0.81. The split-half coefficient for the first and second half of the scale was 0.71 and 0.74, respectively, and the correlation between the two halves was 0.62 and significant at 0.01 level. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the scale is saturated with six factors that explain 54.57% of the variance in total. Confirmatory factor analysis also confirmed the six-factor model with suitable fit indices. This questionnaire was performed along with the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Hajson and Rachman scale, which had appropriate concurrent validity with 18 items (r=0.612, p<0.001).

The electronic form of the revised obsessive-compulsive inventory can be used to assess obsessive-compulsive disorder in students electronically.