Translation and Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Parental Belief Scale in Iranian Parents

This study is done to determine the translation and psychometric properties of the Persian version of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Parental Belief Scale (NICU-PBS) in Iranian parents. The present study was conducted by the descriptive cross-sectional method. This research was conducted from January to August 2021. The population included all parents whose infants were hospitalized in NICUs of two university-affiliated hospitals (Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences). Out of them, 291 subjects were selected by the purposeful sampling method. The utilized questionnaires included a demographic information form, NICU-PBS, Beck Depression Inventory, and Maternal role adaptation scale. The descriptive statistical indexes, Cronbach’s alpha, intra-class correlation coefficient, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used for data analysis. Also, to evaluate the construct validity of the NICU-PBS, we used Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The participants included 97 fathers (33.33%) and 194 mothers (66.67%). According to the CFA results, the three-factor model NICU-PBS (confidence in the parental role, parent–child interaction, parental knowledge of the NICU) was approved in Iranian parents (χ2/df = 1.79; p < 0.001; GFI = 0.91; AGFI = 0.89; CFI = 0.91; RMSEA = 0.05). NICU-PBS with BDI-II (r = -0.42) has divergent validity, and material role adaptation (r = 0.46) has moderate and acceptable convergence validity (p < 0.01). The results of Cronbach’s alpha for the total NICU-PBS were 0.85. The results demonstrated the proper and acceptable validity and reliability of NICU-PBS among Iranian parents.