Design and psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of the Animal Bite Questionnaire for Children (ABQ-C)

BACKGROUND: Animal bites are an important public health concern, particularly among school-aged children, who may lack adequate preventive knowledge and are vulnerable to risky interactions with animals. Reliable and valid tools are needed to assess psychological and motivational determinants of preventive behaviors to inform educational interventions. This study aimed to design and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Animal Bite Questionnaire for Children (ABQ-C) based on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). METHODS: A cross-sectional methodological study was conducted in 2024 among 400 elementary school students in Mashhad, Iran. Questionnaire items were developed through literature review and expert consultation. Face and content validity (qualitative and quantitative) were assessed by experts. Construct validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with AMOS software; exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was not performed. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, and Test-retest correlation over a 10-day interval among 30 students. RESULTS: The final questionnaire included 28 items across eight constructs: perceived severity (4 items), perceived susceptibility (3 items), response efficacy (4 items), self-efficacy (6 items), fear (2 items), perceived response cost (3 items), protection motivation (4 items), and perceived rewards (2 items). CFA confirmed the adequacy of the model, with acceptable fit indices (χ²/df = 2.115, RMSEA = 0.053, CFI = 0.902, PNFI = 0.704, PGFI = 0.705). All items showed factor loadings above 0.40. Internal consistency was satisfactory (Cronbach’s α = 0.72–0.87), and test–retest reliability was 0.84 (ICC = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.71–0.91). CONCLUSION: The ABQ-C demonstrated good validity and reliability for measuring motivational constructs related to preventive behaviors against animal bites among school-aged children. This tool can assist researchers, educators, and health professionals in developing and evaluating targeted interventions for rabies prevention and animal bite control in school-aged populations.