Validity and Reliability of the Persian Version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (General Survey Version) in Iranian Population

Background: One of the most important adverse effects of a psychosocial process is burnout. There are 2 versions of the Maslach burnout inventory which have been standardized and used in different studies in Iran, with each focusing on a specific population. Objectives: The present study aimed at standardizing the third version of this tool. Methods: In this cross sectional study, 331 Iranian staff was included in the final analysis using multistage sampling method in 2011. Exploratory factor analysis using SPSS Version 17 and confirmatory factor analysis using the Lisrel 8.8 were used to assess the domain structure of the Maslach burnout inventory- general survey (MBI-GS). Internal consistency reliability was assessed with Cronbach’s alpha. The CVI and CVR were used to assess content validity. Results: The item total correlation and internal consistency (total alpha) were 0.79, 0.85, and 0.87, respectively. The interclass correlation coefficient was 0.87, which indicated good test retest reliability (r = 0.87, P < 0.01). The construct validity of the scale was obtained using exploratory factor analysis, showing 3 factors with Eigen values greater than 1 (1 and 5 items: α = 0.72; 2, 4 items: α = 0.78; 3, 6 items: α = 0.69). In confirmatory factor analysis, the original three-factor model of MBI-GS was adequate (X2/df  =  582.9/74; goodness-of-fit index  =  0.86; root mean square error of approximation  =  0.05; and comparative fit index  =  0.89). Conclusions: Our expectations were largely supported by the results, which suggested that the meanings of the 3 subscales were completely different. Our results largely replicated the findings achieved by similar studies on the validity and reliability of the general survey version of the MBI.