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The development and evaluation of the Harm Reduction Self-Efficacy Questionnaire
Kristina T Phillips1, Harold Rosenberg
1Department of Psychology, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO 80639, USA. kristina.phillips@unco.edu
Summary
This study validated the Harm Reduction Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (HRSEQ) for injection drug users. The HRSEQ reliably measures confidence in using health-preserving skills across various high-risk situations.
Area of Science:
- Addiction Research
- Psychometric Validation
- Public Health Interventions
Background:
- Injection drug use presents significant health risks.
- Assessing self-efficacy in harm reduction is crucial for intervention development.
- Existing tools may not adequately capture confidence in specific high-risk scenarios.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Harm Reduction Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (HRSEQ).
- To determine the reliability and validity of the HRSEQ in a sample of injection drug users.
- To explore the factor structure of harm reduction self-efficacy across different high-risk situations.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 99 injection drug users for the study.
- Administered the HRSEQ, measuring confidence in 15 coping skills across three high-risk situations (withdrawal, depression, social pressure).
- Conducted reliability (internal consistency, test-retest) and validity (construct, discriminant) analyses, including exploratory factor analysis.
Main Results:
- HRSEQ demonstrated good internal consistency (alphas = .89–.92) and test-retest reliability (rs = .70–.85).
- Validity was supported through comparisons with measures of drug-related problems, coping skills use, and general health self-efficacy.
- Exploratory factor analysis identified three main themes: cleanliness, overdose, and safer injection practices.
Conclusions:
- The HRSEQ is a reliable and valid measure of harm reduction self-efficacy among injection drug users.
- Self-efficacy varies significantly across different high-risk situations.
- Harm reduction interventions should consider the situational context when assessing and targeting self-efficacy.
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