Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Adapted Social Capital Assessment Tool: A sample of Iranian older people

Background: Social capital and social participation (SP) have a significant role in improving the health of older adults. The current study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Persian short version of the Adapted Social Capital Assessment Tool (SASCAT) in older adults.Methods: A total of 414 community-dwelling older people (aged 60 years or older) in Aran and Bidgol city were selected using a multistage cluster sampling method. Construct validity was evaluated by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The tool’s reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and interclass correlation coefficient. The Pearson correlation coefficient test was used to evaluate the convergent validity of the instrument between WHO-5 and SASCAT. SPSS 24 and AMOS 24 software were used for statistical analysis.Results: The three factors of received social support (RSS), SP, and social trust (ST) were extracted from exploratory factor analysis (EPA), explaining 66.33% of the total variance. The CFA revealed that the SASCAT structure model was valid (CMIN/DF = 2.36, GFI = 0.957, CFI = 0.931, RMSEA = 0.081). According to the convergent validity evaluation, there was a significant positive relationship between social capital and psychological well-being (r = 0.28, P 0.01). Moreover, the Persian version of the social capital tool had acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability.Conclusion: The 8-item social capital tool is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used in future studies to examine this concept’s status among older Iranian people.