Yes, I can! Development and validation of the self-efficacy for self-help scale

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Digital Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Self-help interventions for health issues, including depression, are increasingly popular.
• Low real-world uptake of digital self-help tools highlights a need to investigate motivational factors.
• Task-specific self-efficacy is a key motivational process rarely examined in self-help research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically evaluate the Self-Efficacy for Self-Help Scale (SESH).
• To assess the reliability, validity, and predictive utility of the SESH scale in the context of health self-help.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 344 adults tested the SESH scale at three time points.
• Psychometric evaluation included factorial validity, reliability (internal consistency, split-half), convergent and discriminant validity.
• Predictive validity was assessed using the theory of planned behavior questionnaire for self-help.

Main Results:

• The unidimensional SESH scale exhibited excellent reliability and construct validity.
• The scale demonstrated strong predictive validity, with the theory of planned behavior explaining 49% of variance in self-help intentions.
• Sensitivity to change was not clearly supported, though SESH scores differed between intervention and control groups.

Conclusions:

• The SESH scale is a psychometrically sound measure for assessing self-efficacy in self-help.
• This scale can be utilized in both epidemiological studies and clinical practice to advance self-help research.
• Further research with longer follow-ups and diverse samples is recommended.