Transcultural adaptation and validation of the Persian version of the Brief Emotional Intelligence Scale

Abstract

Background: Increasing the level of emotional intelligence (EI) is seen as a strategy for improving both relational quality and efficiency at work. As of today, there was no validated Persian brief instrument for evaluating EI. To fill this gap, this article was aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Brief Emotional Intelligence Scale (BEIS-10). Materials and Methods: A methodological cross-sectional study was conducted among 201 Persian-speaking individuals. These individuals were selected from different parts of Iran using the convenience sampling method. Translation of the BEIS-10 was conducted by employed forward-backward method. Internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha, and for test-retest reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was employed. The construct validity was investigated by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: The Persian version of BEIS-10 indicates a good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.612, 95 confidence interval: 0.384 and 0.769) as well as internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.748, ranging from 0.359 to 0.868 for different domains). The construct validity was evaluated by CFA and five factors from ten items were confirmed and all goodness-of-fit-indices were in acceptable levels. Conclusion: The article concludes that the Persian version of BEIS-10 in five factors from ten items was a reliable and valid instrument for measuring EI in the general population. As well, the article was suggesting that the Persian version of BEIS-10 may stand as a suitable alternative to time-consuming tools for EI measurement since this scale appears to be time-saving and applicable to Iranian society.