Self-Efficacy in Persian Adolescents: Psychometric Properties of a Persian Version of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C)

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a Persian version of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) among Iranian adolescents. The scale was translated into Persian and administered to 946 high school students (49.8% girls, ages 14 through 19). Participants also completed the Child Depression Inventory, Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, and Spielberger’s State–Trait Anxiety Inventory. Finally, participants’ grade point averages were collected. Confirmatory factor analysis upheld the original 3-factor structure: social, academic, and emotional self-efficacy. Findings supported the Persian version of the SEQ-C’s internal consistency and test–retest reliability. The SEQ-C was related to other constructs in empirically and theoretically expected ways. With respect to gender, there was some noninvariance in factor structure and mean-level gender differences. Other results indicated that girls reported higher social and academic self-efficacy, but lower emotional self-efficacy, relative to boys. The Persian version of the SEQ-C was found to be a valid and reliable measure of self-efficacy among Persian adolescents.