Psychometric Rigor of the Brief Religious Coping Measure (RCOPE) in Persian-Speaking Older Adults

Abstract

Religious coping to deal with negative life events has gained considerable attention in recent years. This study was conducted to investigate psychometric properties of the Persian version of Brief RCOPE measure (RCOPE-P). The RCOPE-P was devised using a standard translation/back-translation procedure and its internal consistency and test–retest reliability were estimated using Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients. The instrument’s factor structure was appraised in a sample population of 400 older adults with chronic diseases. Positive and negative subscales of the RCOPE-P indicated acceptable internal consistency (0.74, 0.80) and test–retest reliability (0.89, 0.91). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed fitness of the original 2-factor model (root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.046, CFI = 0.967, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.953, and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.052) to the data obtained from the study. The findings endorsed applicability of the RCOPE-P for the Persian-speaking older adults but its adaptability in other Persian-speaking population subgroups must be further examined.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully thank all the Zoroastrian and Muslim older adults who participated in this study and also, health workers of the Shahid Rajaei and Panbehkaran health centers in the city of Yazd for their cooperation.

Funding

This study was funded by the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran (Grant Number: 5/D/204311–97-06–17).

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Correspondence to Abdolreza Shaghaghi.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Ethical Approval

Approval was obtained from the institutional level Medical Ethics Board of Trustees (MEBoT) in the Yazd University of Medical Sciences (Ethics Approval Number: IR.SSU.SPH.REC.1397.092). The study was performed in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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An informed written consent was obtained from all the study attendees or their legally authorized representatives (in the case of illiterate participants) before completing the RCOPE-P.

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Rezaeipandari, H., Morowatisharifabad, M.A., Mohammadpoorasl, A. et al. Psychometric Rigor of the Brief Religious Coping Measure (RCOPE) in Persian-Speaking Older Adults. J Relig Health (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01229-2

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Keywords

  • Religious Coping
  • Older Adults
  • Psychometric Properties
  • RCOPE