Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters-II (MESSY-II) in a community population in Iran.

Methods: The Iranian version of the MESSY-II was administered by interviewing care staff of all children and adolescents (n=355) with administratively defined intellectual disabilities (IDs) living in Tehran, Esfahan, Karaj & Kurdistan.

Results: Exploratory factor analysis showed two factor structures (Inappropriate Assertiveness/ Impulsiveness and Appropriate Social Skills) for the MESSY-II. MESSY-II subscales demonstrated high internal consistency reliability.

Conclusion: The present study indicates that the Persian form of MESSY-II is applicable to research on populations with varying mental functioning, diagnoses, ages, and living arrangements.