The general self-efficacy scale: multicultural validation studies

General self-efficacy is the belief in one's competence to cope with a broad range of stressful or challenging demands, whereas specific self-efficacy is constrained to a particular task at hand. Relations between general self-efficacy and social cognitive variables (intention, implementation intentions, outcome expectancies, and self-regulation), behavior-specific self-efficacy, health behaviors, well-being, and coping strategies were examined among 1,933 respondents in 3 countries: Germany (n = 633), Poland (n = 359), and South Korea (n = 941). Participants were between 16 and 86 years old, and some were dealing with stressful situations such as recovery from myocardial events or tumor surgery. Perceived self-efficacy was measured by means of the General Self-Efficacy Scale (R. Schwarzer & M. Jerusalem, 1995). Meta-analysis was used to determine population effect sizes for four sets of variables. Across countries and samples, there is consistent evidence for associations between perceived self-efficacy and the variables under study confirming the validity of the psychometric scale. General self-efficacy appears to be a universal construct that yields meaningful relations with other psychological constructs.     

Detachment and coping: The construction and validation of a new scale for measuring coping strategies

The present study describes the construction and validation of a new scale for measuring coping strategies entitled the Coping Styles Questionnaire (CSQ). Earlier studies had suggested that there were three primary coping components: task, emotion, and avoidance. In part, the validation of the CSQ confirmed these results, extracting factors concerned with problem-solving (Rational Coping, RATCOP), emotion (Emotional Coping, EMCOP) and avoidance (Avoidance Coping, AVCOP). However, a new factor was uncovered which tapped distancing or detachment (Detached Coping, DETCOP). Subsequent analyses suggested a grouping of two adaptive (RATCOP and DETCOP) and two maladaptive (EMCOP and AVCOP) coping styles, which was confirmed by the concurrent validation of the scale using the Emotional Control Questionnaire.     

The development and validation of a measure of character: The CIVIC

The present research study sought to develop and validate a character scale – the Comprehensive Inventory of Virtuous Instantiations of Character using a total sample size of 3679 across five studies. In Study 1, character trait items were generated using an integrative classification system. In Study 2, character trait scales were further refined and their factor structure examined, revealing eight higher-order character dimensions or character cores: appreciation, intellectual engagement, fortitude, interpersonal consideration, sincerity, temperance, transcendence, and empathy. Study 3 established convergent validity of character traits with extant measures and discriminability from personality facets, social desirability, and moral cognitive development. Study 4 revealed that character cores were more strongly related to evaluative constructs than personality dimensions. Study 5 demonstrated that character cores predicted performance and psychological well-being outcomes above and beyond personality. The implications of our findings for the assessment and taxonomy of character are discussed.     

The frequency of actions and thoughts scale: development and psychometric validation of a measure of adaptive behaviours and cognitions

This paper describes the development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of an instrument that measures the frequency of adaptive behaviours and cognitions related to therapeutic change during cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), for symptoms of anxiety and depression. Two studies were conducted. In study one, 661 participants completed an online survey with 28 items targeting adaptive behaviours and cognitions. Exploratory factor analysis performed on part of the sample (n = 451) revealed that a four-factor solution ‘characterised’ the data. This led to the development of a 12-item instrument, the Frequency of Actions and Thoughts Scale (FATS). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm the factor structure of the FATS using the remaining sample (n = 210), which revealed an acceptable model fit. In study two, 125 participants with clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, depression, or both were recruited to an Internet-delivered CBT (iCBT) treatment course. Participants completed the FATS and other measures throughout treatment, after treatment, and at three-month follow-up. Correlations and residual change scores of the FATS and its subscales with measures of anxiety, depression, behavioural activation, and CBT-related skills usage supported the construct validity of the FATS. A significant increase in FATS scores over treatment was also observed. The findings provide preliminary support for the psychometric properties of the FATS, which appears to have utility in research investigating mechanisms of change in CBT.     

Conspicuous donation behaviour: scale development and validation

• This paper builds on the concept of conspicuous donation behaviour (CDB) through further conceptualisation and operationalisation of this construct. The paper reports on developing the CDB scale via a three‐stage process, which includes five data collections using a total of 1311 respondents. The data analysis indicates that the resulting eight‐item (two factor) CDB scale has face, content, convergent, discriminant and predictive validity and the CDB scale is reliable across samples. The CDB scale has the potential for significant usage in the development and testing of theory, as well as in practical applications.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Initial validation of a measure of self-efficacy in romantic relationships

This study examines the psychometric properties of a self-report measure of self-efficacy in romantic relationships (SERR). Analyses (with 775 undergraduates) indicated a coherent factor structure representing broad beliefs about task demands in romantic relationships and abilities to meet such demands. SERR scores predict relationship anxiety and expectations of relationship success when demographic characteristics, current romantic relationship status, general self-efficacy, and social self-efficacy are considered. The SERR assesses broad feelings of relationship self-efficacy, independent of specific relationships or partners, important for understanding individual-level relationship expectations, behaviors, and interventions.     

Development and validation of a measure of cognitive and behavioural social self-efficacy

Although social self-efficacy appears influential across a broad spectrum of human behaviour, existing adult measures of social self-efficacy have conceptual and psychometric limitations. The current research brought together the realms of trait social intelligence and self-efficacy to develop and evaluate a measure of social self-efficacy which for the first time included assessment of cognitive domains of social self-efficacy. Items were administered to 301 participants, along with measures of general self-efficacy, subjective wellbeing, social anxiety, depression, general anxiety, and stress. An exploratory factor analysis (Maximum Likelihood with Direct Oblimin extraction) revealed two interpretable factors that were labeled “Social Understanding Self-efficacy” (cognitive) and “Social Skill Self-efficacy” (behavioural). Construct and criterion validity were evident and internal consistency and test–retest reliability were good. It was concluded that the new 18-item measure has sound psychometric properties. As such, this measure may serve as a meaningful tool for researchers and clinicians. While theoretical and empirical frameworks informed the current research, given the exploratory nature of this study, future research should further investigate the psychometric properties of this measure using confirmatory factor analysis and by examining the predictive validity of this measure in a clinical context.     

Acceptance of cosmetic surgery: scale development and validation

We conducted a set of four studies with a total of 1288 adult and undergraduate women and men to develop the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale. These studies provide evidence of this scale's reliability, as well as convergent and discriminant validity. Initial explorations using this 15-item scale indicate that acceptance of cosmetic surgery is negatively related to satisfaction with physical appearance and positively related to attitudes about make-up use. The acceptance of cosmetic surgery may be more related to fears about becoming unattractive than to hopes of becoming more attractive. Cosmetic surgery attitudes were positively related to age for women but not for men. The study's limitations and implications are discussed.     

Social-cognitive predictors of health behavior: action self-efficacy and coping self-efficacy.

The effects of social-cognitive variables on preventive nutrition and behavioral intentions were studied in 580 adults at 2 points in time. The authors hypothesized that optimistic self-beliefs operate in 2 phases and made a distinction between action self-efficacy (preintention) and coping self-efficacy (postintention). Risk perceptions, outcome expectancies, and action self-efficacy were specified as predictors of the intention at Wave 1. Behavioral intention and coping self-efficacy served as mediators linking the 3 predictors with low-fat and high-fiber dietary intake 6 months later at Wave 2. Covariance structure analysis yielded a good model fit for the total sample and 6 subsamples created by a median split of 3 moderators: gender, age, and body weight. Parameter estimates differed between samples; the importance of perceived self-efficacy increased with age and weight.     

Conspicuous consumption orientation: Conceptualisation,scale development and validation

In this paper individual differences in conspicuous tendencies are examined. A new definition of the construct is proposed and, through critical evaluation of the extant literature, the need for a proper scale is posited. Then an extensive exercise is taken up to develop and validate the scale. The 11‐item scale is found to be uni‐dimensional, to have a factor structure that is generalisable across student and non‐student samples, and has acceptable internal and test–retest reliabilities. The scale's validity is attested to by its theoretically tenable relationships with other personality measures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of an in-competition emotion measure: The Brief In-Competition Emotion (BICE) scale

ObjectivesWe aimed to develop a concise psychometric scale to assess athletes’ in-competition emotions, which would reduce the practical and conceptual limitations of previous measures.DesignFour studies were designed to develop and assess the validity of the new Brief In-Competition Emotion (BICE) scale.MethodIn Study 1, the content validity of 39 emotion adjectives was investigated using expert analysis, 9 adjectives were subsequently removed. In Study 2, 402 university athletes used the remaining 30 adjectives to record their in-competition emotions and confirmatory factor analyses and a reliability removal method was used to create the 10-item BICE scale. Study 3 (N = 109) and Study 4 (N = 74) consisted of both concurrent and predictive validity assessments of the BICE scale.ResultsConstruct validity, reliability and confirmatory factor analyses completed during Study 1 and Study 2 resulted in the development of the 10-item BICE scale, consisting of five composite emotion factors: anger, anxiety, excitement, dejection and happiness. The findings from Study 3 and Study 4 showed that the BICE scale presented acceptable levels of concurrent and predictive validity.ConclusionsThe BICE scale is a rigorously developed parsimonious scale which offers researchers new opportunities for investigation and provides applied practitioners with a new method of evaluating in-competition intervention efficacies.     

The negative self-portrayal scale: development, validation, and application to social anxiety

The Negative Self-Portrayal Scale (NSPS) is a new questionnaire designed to assess the extent to which individuals are concerned that specific self-attributes they view as being deficient will be exposed to scrutiny and evaluation by critical others in social situations. These concerns have been proposed to drive symptoms of social anxiety and account for individual differences in social fears and avoidance behaviors (Moscovitch, 2009). Here, we introduce the NSPS and examine its factor structure and psychometric properties across two large samples of North American undergraduate students with normally distributed symptoms of social anxiety. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a 3-factor solution representing concerns about (a) social competence; (b) physical appearance; and (c) signs of anxiety. The NSPS was found to have good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, strong convergent validity, and adequate discriminant validity. In addition, NSPS total scores accounted for a significant proportion of unique variance in self-concealment (i.e., safety) behaviors over and above established symptom measures of social interaction anxiety, social performance anxiety, and depression. Results are discussed in relation to theoretical models of social anxiety and the potential utility of the NSPS for both clinical research and practice.     

The will and the ways: development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope

Defining hope as a cognitive set that is composed of a reciprocally derived sense of successful (a) agency (goal-directed determination) and (b) pathways (planning of ways to meet goals), an individual-differences measure is developed. Studies demonstrate acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and the factor structure identifies the agency and pathways components of the Hope Scale. Convergent and discriminant validity are documented, along with evidence suggesting that Hope Scale scores augmented the prediction of goal-related activities and coping strategies beyond other self-report measures. Construct validational support is provided in regard to predicted goal-setting behaviors; moreover, the hypothesized goal appraisal processes that accompany the various levels of hope are corroborated.     

The development and validation of an implicit measure of competence need satisfaction

Research on self-determination theory has typically relied on explicit measures when examining the concept of competence need satisfaction. As a result, we know relatively little about competence need satisfaction that arises under conditions of automaticity. Across four studies, we developed and validated implicit measures of competence need satisfaction by drawing on two tasks: a relational variant of the implicit association test (IAT; Study 1, 3, and 4) and the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP; Study 2–3). Results across these studies revealed that both implicit measures were either unrelated or moderately related to their explicit counterpart. They were also unrelated to one another. Unlike the IRAP, the IAT was found to be reliable, to display discriminant validity, and to yield meaningful but modest relations with constructs in a nomological network. Together, these results provide modest support for the usefulness of the competence need satisfaction IAT but not of the competence need satisfaction IRAP as an implicit measure of the need for competence. Future research examining the unique predictive value of this IAT is needed, together with research on possible explanations for the low reliability of the IRAP.     

The development and validation of computer self-efficacy and outcome expectancy scales in a nonvolitional context

Computer self-efficacy and outcome expectancy scales were developed using 306 responses to a questionnaire distributed by a national mail survey to end users of computer systems in a variety of functional business areas. Confirmatory factor analysis using a structural equations approach was used to develop three scales. The scales were found to demonstrate satisfactory psychometric properties. The reliability coefficients for these scales were as follows: .85 for computer self-efficacy; .88 for work-related outcome expectancy; and .89 for personal outcome expectancy. The scales provide a strong foundation from which to refine the measurement of computer self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. From these refinements, empirical models that include self-efficacy and outcome expectancy as determinants of information technology acceptance at the individual level of analysis can be improved.     

Development and validation of a scale to measure beliefs about women managers

This paper presents preliminary evidence on the internal consistency and validity of a scale designed to measure the degree to which one believes women managers experience a greater number of obstacles and more critical judgments about their work performance as compared to managerial men (the Stereotype Beliefs about Women Managers scale; SBWMS). Survey data from 1,337 managerial and nonmanagerial men and women employed by a large manufacturing organization revealed that the 6-item scale possessed a single factor. Significant mean group differences and correlations between the SBWMS and a number of organizationallyrelevant measures provide good preliminary support for the scale’s validity.     

Development and validation of a scale to measure beliefs about women managers

This paper presents preliminary evidence on the internal consistency and validity of a scale designed to measure the degree to which one believes women managers experience a greater number of obstacles and more critical judgments about their work performance as compared to managerial men (the Stereotype Beliefs about Women Managers scale; SBWMS). Survey data from 1,337 managerial and nonmanagerial men and women employed by a large manufacturing organization revealed that the 6-item scale possessed a single factor. Significant mean group differences and correlations between the SBWMS and a number of organizationallyrelevant measures provide good preliminary support for the scale’s validity.     

The development and validation of the pictorial motivation scale in physical activity

The purpose of the present research was to report the validation of the pictorial motivation scale in English. This scale is designed for adolescents and adults with an intellectual disability who are unable to independently read a questionnaire. The scale has a picture and phrase depicting 16 items related to participation in sport and physical activity; four for each of the following subscales, intrinsic motivation, self-determined extrinsic motivation, non self-determined extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. Phase 1 of the research describes the formal translation of the scale from French to English. Results from three studies conducted with Special Olympians (Phase 2) and adolescents in a special school (Phases 3 and 4) provided support for the internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and factorial and construct validity of the scale. Overall, the scale would appear to be sufficiently reliable and valid to warrant its continued use and further development.

The development of a scale to measure cognitive distortions in bulimia

The Bulimia Cognitive Distortions Scale (BCDS) was developed to measure irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions associated with bulimia. The final 25-item scale was found to have excellent internal consistency with high item to total correlations and a coefficient alpha of .97. Factor analysis revealed two clear factors measuring cognitive distortions related to automatic eating behaviors and to physical appearance. Data attesting to the convergent and divergent validity of the BCDS are also presented. With 110 subjects (55 bulimics, 55 controls), a discriminant analysis revealed the BCDS to be the only significant variable in predicting group membership, correctly classifying 93.6% of all subjects. The BCDS was also predictive of severity of bulimia as measured by the frequency of binge eating episodes. The potential of the BCDS as both a diagnostic and research instrument is discussed.