The primary domain of concern for occupational therapy is a knowledge base that supports an understanding of the range of influences impacting the activity participation of individuals. Self-efficacy beliefs are reported to underpin a person's capacity to initiate behaviors and produce performance outcomes. The purpose of this study was to test a measure of self-efficacy against which occupational performance outcomes may be predicted in adolescents. This study examined the extension of a generalized measure of self-efficacy, the Perceived Self-Efficacy (PSE) scale, for use with adolescents. Psychometric properties of the PSE scale were tested in a sample of 850 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. The PSE scale exhibited adequate reliability and validity consistent with past research and theory. A one-way analysis of variance produced significant differences in responses by age, demonstrating support for perceived self-efficacy as a developing self-construct during the early transition adolescent years. The use of the PSE scale within the occupational therapy context is highlighted.
AchenbachT. M. (1991). Manual for the Youth Self-Report and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
2.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1993). Perth: A social atlas: 1991 census (Catalogue No. 2840.5). Canberra, Western Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
3.
BanduraA. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
4.
BanduraA. (1995). Self-efficacy in changing societies. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
5.
CarverC.ScheierM. (1998). On the self-regulation of behaviour. New York: Cambridge University Press.
6.
ConnV. S. (1998). Older adults and exercise: Path analysis of self-efficacy related constructs. Nursing Research, 47, 180–190.
7.
CowenE. L.WorkW. C. (1988). Resilient children, psychological wellness, and primary prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 16, 591–607.
8.
CowenE. L.WorkW.HightowerA.WymanP. A.ParkerG.LotyczewskiB. (1991). Toward the development of perceived self-efficacy in children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 22, 169–178.
9.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour. New York: Plenum.
10.
DilorioC.FahertyB.ManteuffelB. (1992). The development and testing of an instrument to measure self-efficacy in individuals with epilepsy. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 24, 9–13.
11.
EhrenbergM. F.CoxD. N.KoopmanR. F. (1991). The relationship between self-efficacy and depression. Adolescence, 26, 361–374.
12.
GageM.NohS.PolatajkoH. J.KasparV. (1994). Measuring perceived self-efficacy in occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 48, 783–790.
13.
GrembowskiD.PatrickD.DiehrP.DurhamM.BeresfordS.KayE.. (1993). Self-efficacy and health behavior among older adults. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 34, 89–104.
14.
HarterS. (1988). Manual for Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents. Denver, CO: University of Denver.
15.
HoeltjeC.ZubrickS.SilburnS.GartonA. (1996). Generalized self-efficacy: Family and adjustment correlates. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 25, 446–453.
16.
JoreskogK.SorbomD. (1989). LISREL 7: A guide to the program and applications. Chicago: SPSS, Inc.
17.
KielhofnerG. (Ed.). (1995). A model of human occupation: Theory and application (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
18.
LorigK.HolmanH. (1998). Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scales measure self-efficacy. Arthritis Care and Research, 11, 155–157.
19.
MadduxJ. E. (1991). Self-efficacy. In SnyderC. R.ForsythD. R. (Eds.), Handbook of social and clinical psychology: The health perspective (pp. 57–78). New York: Pergamon Press.
20.
MartinN. J.HolroydK. A.RokickiL. (1993). The Headache Self-Efficacy Scale: Adaptation to recurrent headaches. Headache, 33, 244–248.
21.
MathiowetzV.MatuskaK. M.MurphyM. E. (2001). Efficacy of an energy conservation course for persons with multiple sclerosis. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 82, 449–456.
22.
MerluzziT. V.NairnR. C.HedgeK.SanchezMartinez M. A.DunnL. (2001). Self-efficacy for coping with cancer: Revision of the Cancer Behavior Inventory (version 2.0). Psychooncology, 10, 206–217.
23.
ParkerG. R.CowenE. L.WorkW. C.WymanP. A. (1990). Test correlates of stress affected and stress resilient outcomes among urban children. Journal of Primary Prevention, 11, 19–35.
24.
PassmoreA. E. (1998). The relationship between leisure and mental health in adolescents.Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
25.
RapleyP.PassmoreA.PhillipsM. (2003). Review of the psychometric properties of the Diabetes Self-Efficacy Scale: Australian longitudinal study. Nursing and Health Sciences, 5, 289–297.
26.
ResnickB. (1999). Reliability and validity testing of the Self-Efficacy for Functional Activities Scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 7, 5–19.
27.
RotterJ. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80, 1–28.
28.
RutterM. (1987). Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 47–61.
29.
RutterM. (1990). Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms. In RolfJ.MastenA. S.NeuchterleinK. H.CicchettiD.WeintraubS. (Eds.), Risk and protective factors in the development of psychopathology (pp. 181–214). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
SchultzD.SchultzS. (1998). Theories of personality (6th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
32.
SchwarzerR.FuchsR. (1995). Changing risk behaviours and adopting health behaviours: The role of self-efficacy beliefs. In BanduraA. (Ed.), Self-efficacy in changing societies (pp. 259–288). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
33.
ShererM.MadduxJ. E. (1982). The Self-Efficacy Scale: Construction and validation. Psychological Reports, 51, 663–671.
34.
StuifbergenA.SeraphineA.RobertsG. (2000). An explanatory model of health promotion and quality of life in chronic disabling conditions. Nursing Research, 49, 122–129.
35.
WhiteR. W. (1959). Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence. Psychological Review, 66, 297–333.
