Psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of the school-to-work transition anxiety scale in senior nursing students.
8 affiliations
- 1Medical-Surgical Nursing Department, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- 2Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
- 3Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
- 4Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
- 5Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran.
- 6Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- 7Department of Psychiatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- 8Medical-Surgical Nursing Department, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Senior nursing students frequently encounter transition anxiety during internships, a phenomenon that adversely affects their mental health, academic performance, and the quality of patient care. Although Iran has introduced internship programs to reduce transition shock, their effectiveness remains unclear due to the lack of a validated Persian assessment tool. This study sought to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Persian adaptation of the school-to-work transition anxiety scale in nursing students.Methods
This methodological research was carried out to examine the structural validity and internal reliability of the scale, utilizing data gathered from October 2024 to May 2025. A total population sampling approach was used. All eligible final-year nursing students were identified using the official enrollment list maintained by the faculty's education office and were invited to participate. A total of 342 students participated and were divided into two independent samples: 171 participants for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and 171 participants for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). EFA, using the maximum likelihood extraction method with Promax rotation, was conducted to identify the latent factor structure. Subsequently, CFA was performed on the second independent sample to verify the proposed model. Convergent validity was assessed following the Fornell and Larcker approach by calculating the average variance extracted (AVE) and composite reliability (CR), while discriminant validity was evaluated using the Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) ratio. Internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients, and stability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).Results
The study included 342 nursing students (55.85% male, mean age 22.81 ± 2.16 years, grade point average 16.83 ± 1.31). Qualitative face validity confirmed all items as clear, relevant, and important. Content validity was confirmed, with minor revisions to three items and the removal of five items (CVR > 0.56). EFA extracted four factors (58.71% variance), with two items removed due to low factor loadings. CFA supported model fit (χ²/DF = 1.665, RMSEA = 0.063, CFI = 0.917). Convergent validity was confirmed for "Interpersonal Interactions" and "Fear of Being Infected" factors based on AVE and CR values. Discriminant validity was confirmed, as all HTMT coefficients were below the 0.85 threshold. Internal consistency of all factors was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega values greater than 0.7, and the stability of the scale was confirmed by evaluation of the ICC with 0.75 acceptable threshold. The final Persian version comprised 24 items across the same four-factor structure as the original 31-item scale.Conclusion
The school-to-work transition anxiety scale demonstrated strong reliability and validity, confirming its suitability as a self-report instrument for assessing transition-related anxiety among final-year nursing students in Iran.
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BibTeX
@article{shahsavari2026psychometric,
title = {{Psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of the school-to-work transition anxiety scale in senior nursing students.}},
author = {Hooman Shahsavari and Javad Nadali and Saeed Ghasempour and Seyedmohammad Mirhosseini and Leila Sayadi and Somayeh Hashemi Ali Abadi and Anahita Divani},
journal = {BMC medical education},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12909-026-10022-2},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42928185},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of the school-to-work transition anxiety scale in senior nursing students.
AU - Hooman Shahsavari
AU - Javad Nadali
AU - Saeed Ghasempour
AU - Seyedmohammad Mirhosseini
AU - Leila Sayadi
AU - Somayeh Hashemi Ali Abadi
AU - Anahita Divani
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/28
JO - BMC medical education
DO - 10.1186/s12909-026-10022-2
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42928185
AB - Background Senior nursing students frequently encounter transition anxiety during internships, a phenomenon that adversely affects their mental health, academic performance, and the quality of patient care. Although Iran has introduced internship programs to reduce transition shock, their effectiveness remains unclear due to the lack of a validated Persian assessment tool. This study sought to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Persian adaptation of the school-to-work transition anxiety scale in nursing students.Methods This methodological research was carried out to examine the structural validity and internal reliability of the scale, utilizing data gathered from October 2024 to May 2025. A total population sampling approach was used. All eligible final-year nursing students were identified using the official enrollment list maintained by the faculty's education office and were invited to participate. A total of 342 students participated and were divided into two independent samples: 171 participants for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and 171 participants for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). EFA, using the maximum likelihood extraction method with Promax rotation, was conducted to identify the latent factor structure. Subsequently, CFA was performed on the second independent sample to verify the proposed model. Convergent validity was assessed following the Fornell and Larcker approach by calculating the average variance extracted (AVE) and composite reliability (CR), while discriminant validity was evaluated using the Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) ratio. Internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients, and stability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).Results The study included 342 nursing students (55.85% male, mean age 22.81 ± 2.16 years, grade point average 16.83 ± 1.31). Qualitative face validity confirmed all items as clear, relevant, and important. Content validity was confirmed, with minor revisions to three items and the removal of five items (CVR > 0.56). EFA extracted four factors (58.71% variance), with two items removed due to low factor loadings. CFA supported model fit (χ²/DF = 1.665, RMSEA = 0.063, CFI = 0.917). Convergent validity was confirmed for "Interpersonal Interactions" and "Fear of Being Infected" factors based on AVE and CR values. Discriminant validity was confirmed, as all HTMT coefficients were below the 0.85 threshold. Internal consistency of all factors was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega values greater than 0.7, and the stability of the scale was confirmed by evaluation of the ICC with 0.75 acceptable threshold. The final Persian version comprised 24 items across the same four-factor structure as the original 31-item scale.Conclusion The school-to-work transition anxiety scale demonstrated strong reliability and validity, confirming its suitability as a self-report instrument for assessing transition-related anxiety among final-year nursing students in Iran.
SN - 1472-6920
ER -