Psychometric Validation of the Persian Version of Optimism Scale in University Students

Abstract

Right now, more than ever in our lives, we need to remain optimistic. The present study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of The Optimism Scale, developed by Balci & Yilmaz (2002), among Iranian university students and to adapt to Iranian culture. The scale is a single-factor scale with 24 items. The participants were selected using an appropriate sampling method, and the sample consisted of 600 Iranian university students (360 females and 240 males) from Tehran and Tabriz cities. Participants' age ranged from 18 to 24 years (M = 21.58, SD = 1.75). The study findings suggested similarities between Iran and Turkey culture (e.g., religion, language, neighborhood relations). The optimism scale revealed a good construct validity in the Goodness of fit index indicators. The Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficient for the scale was 0.76 and Convergent validity with happiness was 0.38. In future studies, the scale's factor structure can be investigated in different samples, such as adolescents and adults.