Validation of the Persian Adaptation of Academic Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in the EFL Context

Abstract

The present study examined the content and construct validity, and internal consistency of the Academic Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (AERQ) in the Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. The original scale was translated and back-translated between English and Persian. The content validity ratio (CVR), and content validity index (CVI) were then measured by a panel of 14 expert judges. The internal consistency coefficients of the scale were estimated by piloting it with 60 Iranian EFL learners. The results of the Cronbach’s alpha showed a satisfactory level of reliability. The AERQ was then administered to 346 English language learners ( M age = 19.34, SD age = 4.951). To explore the factorial structure of the 37 items of the questionnaire, an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted. In addition, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was run to examine the convergent and discriminant validity of the AERQ’s measurement model. The results obtained from the modified measurement model showed an adequate fit of the data. In the modified version, two items (i.e., one item from suppression, and one from redirection of attention) were omitted due to low standardized loadings (< .50). The model fit indices also provided a reasonable model fit for the structural model. The internal consistency coefficients for the constructs were higher than the minimum value (α = .70). Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.