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Self-Efficacy Scale

The General Self-Efficacy Scale is a 10-item psychometric scale that assesses an individual's perception of their ability to cope with daily challenges and adapt after experiencing stressful events. It has been used internationally for over two decades and has high reliability and validity. As a general measure, it does not assess behavior change in specific domains.

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78 views

Self-Efficacy Scale

The General Self-Efficacy Scale is a 10-item psychometric scale that assesses an individual's perception of their ability to cope with daily challenges and adapt after experiencing stressful events. It has been used internationally for over two decades and has high reliability and validity. As a general measure, it does not assess behavior change in specific domains.

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Phương Thảo
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The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE)

Authors Ralf Schwarzer & Matthias Jerusalem


Citation Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, M. (1995). Generalized Self-Efficacy scale. In J. Weinman,
S. Wright, & M. Johnston, Measures in health psychology: A user’s portfolio. Causal and
control beliefs (pp. 35-37). Windsor, UK: NFER-NELSON.
Purpose The scale was created to assess a general sense of perceived self-efficacy with the aim in
mind to predict coping with daily hassles as well as adaptation after experiencing all kinds
of stressful life events.
Population The scale is designed for the general adult population, including adolescents. Persons
below the age of 12 should not be tested.
Administrati The scale is usually self-administered, as part of a more comprehensive questionnaire.
on Preferably, the 10 items are mixed at random into a larger pool of items that have the same
response format. Time: It requires 4 minutes on average. Scoring: Responses are made on
a 4-point scale. Sum up the responses to all 10 items to yield the final composite score
with a range from 10 to 40. No recoding or reverse coded items.
Description The construct of Perceived Self-Efficacy reflects an optimistic self-belief (Schwarzer,
1992). This is the belief that one can perform a novel or difficult tasks, or cope with
adversity -- in various domains of human functioning. Perceived self-efficacy facilitates
goal-setting, effort investment, persistence in face of barriers and recovery from setbacks.
It can be regarded as a positive resistance resource factor. Ten items are designed to tap
this construct. Each item refers to successful coping and implies an internal-stable
attribution of success.
Reliability Cronbach’s Alpha: In samples from 23 nations, Cronbach’s alphas ranged from .76 to
.90, with the majority in the high .80s. Factors: One Factor-The scale is unidimensional.
Validity Criterion-related validity is documented in numerous correlation studies where positive
coefficients were found with favorable emotions, dispositional optimism, and work
satisfaction. Negative coefficients were found with depression, anxiety, stress, burnout,
and health complaints. In studies with cardiac patients, their recovery over a half-year time
period could be predicted by pre-surgery self-efficacy.
Correlations between General Self-Efficacy Scale and Outcomes (correlations
derived from a sample of n=180 university students; all correlations are
significant, p<.05.
Extraversion .49
Neuroticism -.42
Action orientation .43
Hope for success .46
Fear of failure -.45

Strengths The measure has been used internationally with success for two decades. It is
suitable for a broad range of applications. It can be taken to predict adaptation after
life changes, but it is also suitable as an indicator of quality of life at any point in
time.
Weaknesses As a general measure, it does not tap specific behavior change. Therefore, in most
applications it is necessary to add a few items to cover the particular content of the
survey or intervention (such as smoking cessation self-efficacy, or physical
exercise self-efficacy).
Bibliography Jerusalem, M., & Schwarzer, R. (1992). Self-efficacy as a resource factor in stress
(by year) appraisal processes. In R. Schwarzer (Ed.), Self-efficacy: Thought control of
action (pp. 195-213). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
Rimm, H., & Jerusalem, M. (1999). Adaptation and validation of an Estonian
version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES). Anxiety, Stress, and
Coping, 12, 329-345.
Schwarzer, R., & Scholz, U. (2000). Cross-Cultural Assessment of Coping
Resources: The General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale. Paper presented at
the First Asian Congress of Health Psychology: Health Psychology and
Culture, Tokyo, Japan.
Measure

1 I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough.


2 If someone opposes me, I can find the means and ways to get what I want.
3 It is easy for me to stick to my aims and accomplish my goals.
4 I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected events.
5 Thanks to my resourcefulness, I know how to handle unforeseen situations.
6 I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort.
I can remain calm when facing difficulties because I can rely on my coping
7
abilities.
8 When I am confronted with a problem, I can usually find several solutions.
9 If I am in trouble, I can usually think of a solution.
10 I can usually handle whatever comes my way.
Response 1 = Not at all true 2 = Hardly true 3 = Moderately true 4 = Exactly true
Format

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