Reliability and Validity of a Self-Efficacy Instrument for Protective Sexual Behaviors

Abstract

The authors investigated the psychometric properties of a 22-item scale that measured respondents' perceptions of their ability to refuse sexual intercourse, question potential sexual partners, and use condoms. Two hundred twenty-one male and female undergraduates completed an anonymous questionnaire that measured a wide range of constructs. The scale exhibited good internal consistency, and convergent validity was demonstrated for 5 sexual behavior items (number of sexual partners ever and in the past 3 months, condom use in past 3 months, at last intercourse, and in the future). The instrument appeared to be free of social desirability bias and was reliable and valid for assessing college students' self-efficacy for protective sexual behaviors. College healthcare professionals could administer the instrument to help students determine their levels of self-efficacy for engaging in self-protective behaviors and identify domains in which they may need to improve their skills to reduce their risks of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease or having or causing an unplanned pregnancy.

Key Words:

• college students
• condom use
• sexual behaviors
• reliability and validity
• self-efficacy
• sexually transmitted diseases

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Steven D. Pinkerton

Heather Cecil is an assistant professor in the Maternal and Child Health Department at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Steven D. Pinkerton is an assistant professor with the Center for AIDS Intervention Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.