Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the machiavellian personality scale and its association with social adjustment and risky behaviors in Iranian college students

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to develop and assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Machiavellian Personality Scale (P-MPS), and evaluate its relationship with social adjustment and risky behaviors in Iranian college students. METHODS: Participants were 500 healthy college students (270 females and 230 males) from medical and non-medical universities in Sanandaj, Iran. They completed the P-MPS, the social adjustment subscale of the Bell Adjustment Inventory, and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) questionnaire. The factor structure of the P-MPS was evaluated by exploratory factor analysis followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to examine the internal consistency of the P-MPS and Pearson correlation test was used to investigate the relationship of the P-MPS score with the scores of social adjustment subscale and YRBSS. RESULTS: The P-MPS showed good content validity (Content validity ratio = 0.73, content validity index = 0.90), construct validity, and internal consistency (α = 0.802). The CFA results supported the four-factor solution of the questionnaire. The total score of P-MPS and its dimensions showed a significant negative relationship with social adjustment (p < 0.05). Moreover, its score was significantly correlated with risky behaviors (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The Persian version of MPS can be used for assessing Machiavellianism in the Iranian population.