Abstract
BackgroundSelf-efficacy (SE) is a person’s belief in his or her own capability to perform and accomplish a task that could produce a favourable outcome, despite facing obstacles. This study aimed to confirm the validity and reliability of an SE scale among undergraduate students at the Health Campus of the Universiti Sains Malaysia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among the undergraduate students using a self-administered questionnaire. After using a purposive sampling method, 562 students completed the questionnaire. Mplus 8 was employed to conduct the confirmatory factor analysis on the psychometric properties of Bandura’s 18-item SE scale with three factors (internal feeling, competing demands and situational). Then, the composite reliability was calculated for each factor.ResultsMost of the students were Malay (73.3%) females (79.0%) who exercised 2.62 times a week for an average of 43.37 min per session. The final measurement model was obtained after removing six problematic items, and the model was deemed fit based on several indices [Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.067, Standardised Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = 0.004, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.924]. The composite reliability values of the three factors were acceptable (0.65 to 0.84).ConclusionThe simplified 12-item SE scale with three factors displayed good fit indices with regard to the data, and they were considered to be acceptable for the current sample.
Highlights
Self-efficacy (SE) is a person’s belief in his or her own capability to perform and accomplish tasks that produce favourable outcomes, despite facing obstacles
The students’ SE responses are displayed in frequency and percentage (%). It showed that most of the students were moderately confident in all situations, whereas the minority chooses completely confident in their preferences
The results showed a poor fit of data in Model 1, Table 2 with Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.657, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.603, SRMR = 0.149, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) (90%CI) = 0.110 (0.103, 0.116), RMSEA P-value < 0.001
Summary
Self-efficacy (SE) is a person’s belief in his or her own capability to perform and accomplish tasks that produce favourable outcomes, despite facing obstacles. SE is the key construct in social cognitive theory that is used to elucidate the factors affecting exercise behaviour among older individuals [1,2,3,4]. According to Bandura’s social cognitive theory, SE represents the psychological construct (i.e. the mediator) linked to a wide range of healthy behaviours [4]. Self-efficacy (SE) is a person’s belief in his or her own capability to perform and accomplish a task that could produce a favourable outcome, despite facing obstacles.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
