ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Promoting drug-related knowledge and improving relevant attitudes among students are of crucial importance toward the prevention of drug misuse. Objective: This study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the "drug-related knowledge and attitude questionnaire" among Iranian medical students. Methods: The participants of this cross-sectional study were students of Iran University of Medical Sciences. The "drug-related knowledge and attitude questionnaire" and a socio-demographic questionnaire were used to gather the data. Content validity was assessed by a panel of 11 experts, and face validity was evaluated by 10 participating students. Item-total correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were used as internal consistency estimates. Results: The face and content validity of the questionnaire were satisfactory. The overall content validity index was .82. Cronbach's alpha was .679, indicating an acceptable degree of internal consistency and homogeneity between the items. Overall, most of the students had adequate knowledge about the harmful effects of addictive substances (48.11 ± 3.26). Conclusions: The "drug-related knowledge and attitude questionnaire" has favorable validity and reliability to assess the knowledge and attitude of Iranian students toward drug misuse and may be used in clinical and epidemiological studies. Besides, our findings can provide a suitable starting point for the implementation of effective psychoeducational interventions aimed at the improvement of the students' knowledge and attitudes toward drug misuse.
