cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the perceived self-regulation skills scale for elementary students in temporary online learning environments: a cross-sectional study

Background: with the rise of online education during temporary school closures, elementary students face self-regulation challenges. this study aimed to culturally adapt and validate the perceived self-regulation skills scale (p-srss) for iranian students.methods: this cross-sectional study, which involved transcultural adaptation and psychometric assessment, was carried out between november 2023 and august 2024 among fourth-grade elementary students in bandar abbas, iran, who attended temporary online classes due to interruptions like power failures or air pollution. using a multistage cluster sampling method, a total of 1,120 students from 20 public schools were selected. the p-srss was translated into persian following the world health organization’s forward–backward translation protocol. ten experts evaluated face and content validity. construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis (efa) with spss v24.0 and confirmatory factor analysis (cfa) with lisrel v8.80. concurrent validity was assessed through correlations with the gómez and colleagues’ self-regulation questionnaire. reliability was evaluated using cronbach’s alpha, test–retest reliability, and the split-half method. statistical significance was set at p<0.05. results: the findings confirmed that the p-srss demonstrated acceptable face and content validity (content validity ratio (cvr) ranged from 0.80 to 1.00; content validity index (cvi) ranged from 0.83 to 0.93). concurrent validity was supported by a strong and significant correlation with the gómez and colleagues’ self-regulation questionnaire (r=0.77, p<0.001). the efa identified three factors—“planning the learning process,” “implementation of the learning plan,” and “focusing on the target and learning task”—explaining 64.44% of the total variance. the cfa indicated a good model fit. internal consistency was excellent (cronbach’s alpha = 0.949), and test-retest reliability was also acceptable (r=0.811, p<0.0001).conclusion: the persian version of the p-srss is a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating self-regulation in online learning among fourth-grade students, supporting research on engagement, learning outcomes, and related academic variables.