The Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire-Clarified and Revised

Aim and Background: The reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) is important and useful in various areas such as personality, emotion and psychopathology. Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire-Revised and Clarified (SPSRQ-RC) was developed to measure this theory and address the problem of Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ). The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of SPSRQ-RC. Methods and Materials: This was a descriptive-correlative study. The statistical population was University of Bojnord students that 485 of whom were selected as the research sample using stratified random sampling method. Data were collected using SPSRQ-RC, Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation Scales (BIS/BAS Scales), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The collected data were analyzed through Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson correlation coefficient, test-retest method, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Findings: The principal components method by Varimax rotation led to the extraction of two factors; the sensitivity to Punishment (SP) and sensitivity to Reward (SR) for SPSRQ-RC. The two-factor model explained 38.51 percent of the data variance. 10 items of SPSRQ-RC on the first factor (sensitivity to Punishment) and 10 items on the second factor (sensitivity to Reward) have the significant factor load. All items belonging to each of the sensitivity to punishment and sensitivity to reward factors had a high factor load and confirmed the SPSRQ-RC factor structure. The results of the SPSRQ-RC reliability using internal consistency and test re-test showed that this tool is reliable. Also, the results showed that SPSRQ-RC has a convergent and divergent validity. Conclusions: SPSRQ-RC has good psychometric properties in Iranian society and provides a more appropriate assessment for RST.