PLoS ONE (Jan 2020)

Multidimensional Scales of Perceived Self-Efficacy (MSPSE): Measurement invariance across Italian and Colombian adolescents.

  • Emanuele Basili,
  • Maryluz Gomez Plata,
  • Carmelina Paba Barbosa,
  • Maria Gerbino,
  • Eriona Thartori,
  • Carolina Lunetti,
  • Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado,
  • Marcela Ruiz García,
  • Bernadette Paula Luengo Kanacri,
  • Gonzalo Tamayo Giraldo,
  • Mariela Narvaez Marin,
  • Fiorenzo Laghi,
  • Concetta Pastorelli

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227756
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
p. e0227756

Abstract

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Multidimensional Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale for Children has been developed as an important tool to measure Self-Efficacy in school contexts. The present study assesses the measurement invariance of the MSPSE across two samples of Italian and Colombian adolescents using Multi-sample Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Participants were Italian (N = 564) and Colombian (N = 645) students attending the 7th grade (age 12-13) drawn from a residential community near Rome and three Colombian cities: Medellin, Manizales and Santa Marta. Findings from gender invariance provide high support for full and partial invariance among Colombian and Italian adolescents respectively. Cross-national comparison showed partial scalar invariance between Italy and Colombia, with Italian students perceiving themselves as more efficacious on Academic, Social and Self-Regulatory dimensions. MSPSE's structural validity has been confirmed, along with its three-factor-structure across gender, for the Italian and Colombian samples. The findings support the invariance and the validity of this scale to measure Self-Efficacy in school contexts from a cross-cultural perspective.