Psychometric characteristics of the Muslim Religiosity Scale in Iranian patients with cancer.
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Religiosity is a factor that may help cancer patients to cope with their disease. The aim of the current study was to validate a Persian translation of the Muslim Religiosity Scale (MRS) in a population of Iranian patients with cancer.



Two thousand patients were invited to participate in this multisite study, of whom 1,879 participated. Patients completed a demographic questionnaire, the MRS, and several scales, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, and the SF-12 quality of life measure. Backward-forward translation was employed to develop a Persian-language version of the MRS. Cronbach's alpha and two-week test-retest reliability were also assessed. Convergent and discriminative validity as well as the factor structure of the scale were also examined.



The internal reliability (α) of the religious practices and beliefs subscales was 0.88 and 0.92, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.92 (range = 0.75-1.0). The scale demonstrated solid convergent and discriminative validity. Factor analysis indicated two main factors, as predicted, with an appropriate goodness of fit (χ2 = 76.23, RMSEA = 0.065). Such factors as marital status, quality of life, social support, and self-efficacy were positively associated with MRS total score, while anxiety, depression, and suicide ideation had negative associations.



The MRS is a useful tool for assessing religiosity in Iranian patients with cancer and is associated with a number of important health outcomes.
Health Research Center,Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran.
Mohsen
M
Saffari
Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences,Qazvin,Iran.
Amir H
AH
Pakpour
Department of Islamic Studies,Qazvin University of Medical Sciences,Qazvin,Iran.
Seyed Fattah
SF
Mortazavi
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,Duke University Medical Center,Durham,North Carolina.
Harold G
HG
Koenig
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014177:Translations
Cancer; Muslim; Psychometric assessment; Religiosity