Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Sep;28(9):2513-2523.
doi: 10.1007/s11136-019-02198-6. Epub 2019 May 28.

Calibration and initial validation of a general self-efficacy item bank and short form for the NIH PROMIS®

John M Salsman  1   2 , Benjamin D Schalet  3 , Thomas V Merluzzi  4 , Crystal L Park  5 , Elizabeth A Hahn  3   6 , Mallory A Snyder  7 , David Cella  3   6
Affiliations

Calibration and initial validation of a general self-efficacy item bank and short form for the NIH PROMIS®

John M Salsman et al. Qual Life Res. 2019 Sep.

Abstract

Aims: General self-efficacy is associated with adaptive coping and positive health outcomes. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) has developed self-efficacy item banks for managing chronic conditions, but lacks a general self-efficacy measure. We sought to refine and validate an item-response theory (IRT)-based measure of general self-efficacy for PROMIS®.

Methods: Ten items were modified from the NIH Toolbox® Self-Efficacy Item Bank by creating "confidence" response options, and administered to a general population sample (n = 1000) with the Toolbox® Self-Efficacy Item Bank, Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), and Generalized Expectancy for Success Scale (GESS). We split the sample in half for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). IRT analyses included evaluation of differential item functioning (DIF).

Results: Participants had a mean age of 47.8 years and 50.3% were male. EFA showed all items loaded onto one dominant factor and CFA yielded a good fitting model for a general self-efficacy bank with confidence response options (CFI = 0.987, TLI = 0.984, RMSEA = 0.090). Items showed no evidence of DIF by gender, age, education, or race. Internal consistency reliability was α = .94 and .88 for a new 10-item general self-efficacy bank and 4-item short form, respectively. The new bank was correlated with the LOT-R (r = .58), the GESS (r = .55), and the Toolbox® Self-Efficacy Item Bank (r = .87).

Conclusions: The PROMIS® General Self-Efficacy measure demonstrated sufficient unidimensionality and displayed good internal consistency reliability, model fit, and convergent validity. Further psychometric testing of the PROMIS® General Self-Efficacy Item Bank and Short Form can evaluate its utility in people with chronic health conditions.

Keywords: Item-response theory; Oncology; Patient-reported outcomes; Psychological adaptation; Self-efficacy; Well-being.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Frequency Distribution of Raw Scores Note: n=1,000, M=37.3, Mdn = 38, SD=7.19, n=1,000, M=34.8, Mdn = 36, SD=8.73
Figure 1
Figure 1
Frequency Distribution of Raw Scores Note: n=1,000, M=37.3, Mdn = 38, SD=7.19, n=1,000, M=34.8, Mdn = 36, SD=8.73
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scree Plots Note: NIH Toolbox® Self-Efficacy Item Bank, PROMIS® General Self-Efficacy Item Bank
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bandura A, Self-efficacy: the exercise of control 1997, New York: W.H. Freeman.
    1. Ryan RM and Deci EL, Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. Am Psychol, 2000. 55(1): p. 68–78. - PubMed
    1. Carver CS and Scheier M, Attention and Self-Regulation 1981, New York: Springer.
    1. Rahman A, et al., Factors affecting self-efficacy and pain intensity in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain seen in a specialist rheumatology pain clinic. Rheumatology, 2008. 47(12): p. 1803–1808. - PubMed
    1. Schwerdtfeger A, Konermann L, and Schönhofen K, Self-efficacy as a health-protective resource in teachers? A biopsychological approach. Health Psychology, 2008. 27(3): p. 358–68. - PubMed

Publication types