The General Self-Efficacy Scale: Multicultural Validation Studies

• Published in: The journal of psychology 2005-09, Vol.139 (5), p.439-457
• Main Authors: Luszczynska, Aleksandra, Scholz, Urte, Schwarzer, Ralf
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adult; Affect (Psychology); Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Applied psychology; Cognition; Coping; Coping strategies; Coronary Disease - psychology; Cross cultural studies; Cross-cultural analysis; Cross-Cultural Comparison; cross-cultural research; Cultural Diversity; Data analysis; Developing countries; Emotions; Ethnic Groups - psychology; Exercise; Female; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - psychology; Germany; Health Behavior; Humans; implementation intention; Korea; Language; LDCs; Male; Mental stress; Middle Aged; outcome expectancies; Pain; Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data; Physical fitness; Poland; Problem solving; Psychometrics - statistics & numerical data; Reference Values; Regulation; Reproducibility of Results; Self Efficacy; Self image; Self-perception; Social Adjustment; Social psychology; South Korea; Stress; Students - psychology; Survey data; Systematic review; Validation studies; Well-being
• ISSN: 0022-3980; 1940-1019
• DOI: 10.3200/JRLP.139.5.439-457

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.