REVISION OF THE STRENGTH SELF-EFFICACY QUESTIONNAIRE

Abstract

Less than 30% of older adults participate in a regular exercise behavior. Older adults can benefit from strength training exercises that promote muscular endurance and strength. It would be of benefit to identify factors that contribute to decisions older adults make regarding exercise participation. Self-efficacy has been proposed as a mediating factor. There are a variety of author-developed instrument; however, a review of the literature failed to identify a suitable instrument to assess self-efficacy in older adults, specifically what older adults think about their ability to perform strength training exercises. Therefore, the objective of this study was to continue the development of an instrument to measure self-efficacy towards strength training exercises among older adults. Bandura's Theory of Self-Efficacy was used for the theoretical framework for the instrument development. Modifications to the initial questionnaire were made from quantitative and qualitative findings of the initial testing and recommendations of Bandura (1997). Specific modifications will be described. A convenience sample of community-dwelling adults (N = 86) aged 60 to 92 years participated. The revised Strength Self-Efficacy questionnaire consisted of 42 non-redundant items using a 10-point semantic scale. The first eighteen questions on the questionnaire focused upon performing nine strength-training exercises. The remaining twenty-four questions focused upon general self-efficacy regarding the strength training exercises and a home strength-training program. Cronbach alphas ranged from .98 to .99. The item-total correlations ranged from .28–.87. The overall alpha coefficient of .98. Construct validity was determined by estimating the theoretical relationship between efficacy expectations and outcome expectations. Findings demonstrated modifications made produced a valid and reliable instrument to measure self-efficacy toward strength training among older adults.