Abstract
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.
Highlights
According to Social Cognitive Theory, Perceived Self-efficacy is a key mechanism in the exercise of human agency within a causal structure involving triadic reciprocal causation between the person, the environment, and behavior [1]
We focused on the school context and according to Hofstede’s Indicators both countries are characterized by high levels of Power/Distance—with Colombia slightly higher than Italymeaning that, at school, the relationships between teachers and students are more likely to be characterized by similar hierarchical order, in which teacher and student role are hierarchical, fixed and not negotiable
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFAs) conducted on the total sample and separately for Colombia and Italy confirmed the Multidimensional Scales of Perceived Self-Efficacy (MSPSE) scale’s three-factor structure as identified by previous validation studies (e.g. [23])
Summary
According to Social Cognitive Theory, Perceived Self-efficacy is a key mechanism in the exercise of human agency within a causal structure involving triadic reciprocal causation between the person, the environment, and behavior [1]. Self-efficacy beliefs are the convictions individuals hold about their capacity to reach desired outcomes, to overcome impediments, to resist adversities, to self-regulate in the face of pressing circumstances, to discern among many competing alternatives, and to negotiate important life transitions [2]. Multidimensional Scales of Perceived Self-Efficacy: Measurement invariance across Italy and Colombia (Prot.:AI2615AEAR, Principal Investigator Concetta Pastorelli; Prot.: AI261745T8, Principal Investigator Maria Gerbino)
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