Cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of the motivation for nursing student scale (MNSS)

BACKGROUND: Motivation is a critical factor in the success of nursing students, as it significantly influences their ability to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for the nursing profession. Insufficient motivation can result in a lack of engagement with learning activities, thereby impeding the development of essential competencies. AIM: This study aimed to translate the Motivation for Nursing Student Scale (MNSS) into Persian and evaluate its psychometric properties within the context of nursing students in Iran. METHOD: This methodological cross-sectional study involved a sample of 542 nursing students selected through convenience sampling. The MNSS was translated into Persian following the guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and assessments of internal consistency were conducted to evaluate the validity and reliability of the instrument. RESULTS: The EFA and CFA validated the structure of the instrument, identifying four factors and 20 items, which explained 58.68% of the total variance. The CFA results indicated a well-fitting model with the following indices: CFI = 0.91, GFI = 0.93, IFI = 0.946, TLI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.061, and SRMR = 0.049. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) for the scale were 0.882 and 0.802, respectively. CONCLUSION: The Persian version of the MNSS demonstrates satisfactory reliability and validity, making it a dependable instrument for measuring the academic motivation of nursing students. This tool can be effectively used to assess the motivation of nursing students in Iran.