Psychometric Evaluation of Iranian Version of Beliefs about Third-Hand Smoke Scale (BATHS-T) in Pregnant Women

Abstract Introduction: Exposure to third-hand smoke (THS) is hazardous for human health, especially for pregnant women. This study aimed at psychometric evaluation of the Iranian version of “Beliefs about Third-Hand Smoke Scale”(BATHS-T) in pregnant women. Aims & Methods: The data collected from 364 pregnant women referring to Yazd health centers. The BATHS scale was translated into Persian, and the stages of adaptation of the BATHS scale in Persian were evaluated with CVR = 0.87 and CVI = 0.88. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to analyze the construct validity of the scale. Besides, the correlation test was used to evaluate the correlation of categories and subcategories of the scale. Results The BATHS structural equation model showed a favorable fit as RMSEA value was less than 0.05 and X2/df varied between 2 to 5. Moreover, other indices such as CFI and NFI were more than 90%, indicating the optimal fit of the present model. The correlation between the overall scale of BATHS and its two subcategories was 0.843 (P < 0.001) and the correlation between health and stability subcategories was 0.886 (P < 0.001). Since there was a positive and highly significant correlation, the fitted BATHS scale was considered to be structurally consistent with its subcategories. The reliability of the whole scale was 0.86 using Cronbach's α coefficient. Conclusion The Iranian version of the BATHS scale is reliable and valid. This scale provides the required prerequisites for further research and education on third hand smoke exposure. It can also be possibly used in similar studies.