Metric characteristics of the Self-efficacy Scale: a preliminary study

Abstract

The concept of self-efficacy is presented in the paper, which has not been applied yet in empirical psychological research in Slovenia, and selected metric characteristics of the translated and adapted Schwarzer's generalised self-efficacy scale (LSU) are analysed. The introduction focuses on self-efficacy within organisational context, the self-efficacy versus self-esteem issue and the Bandura's socio-cognitive paradigm. The psychometric analyses are based on a sample of 120 undergraduates, supplemented by comparisons with a sample of 15 employees. In addition to the LSU, a self-regulation scale was applied (another adaptation to Slovenian), a standard trait-anxiety scale and a self-confidence scale. The self-efficacy scale is analysed in detail – including the item level, while the other three instruments are only addressed on the scale level. LSU's reliability in terms of internal consistency proved to be sufficient (Cronbach α 0,77 for the students and 0,87 for the employees). Concurrent validity was verified through indicator convergence (a high positive correlation with the two related scales and a high negative correlation with the anxiety scale). Another piece of evidence in favour of construct validity of the LSU is provided by lack of significant differences between distinct groups of students on any of the scales, as well as by significant differences between the students and the employees on all the four scales.

Keywords

• self-efficacy
• self-regulation
• psychometric scales
• reliability
• validity