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The Self-efficacy Questionnaire for School Situations: Development and Psychometric Evaluation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

David Heyne*
Affiliation:
Monash University
Neville King
Affiliation:
Monash University
Bruce Tonge
Affiliation:
Monash University
Stephanie Rollings
Affiliation:
Monash University
Melinda Pritchard
Affiliation:
Monash University
Dawn Young
Affiliation:
Monash University
Nicole Myerson
Affiliation:
Monash University
*
Centre for Developmental Psychiatry, Monash Medical Centre, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton VIC 3168, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Following Bandura's theory, a Self-efficacy Questionnaire for School Situations (SEQ-SS) was developed to assess the cognitions of school refusers. The instrument contains twelve school-related situations which are rated by children according to their belief about their ability to cope with each situation. Factor analysis yielded two reliable factors labelled Academic/Social Stress and Separation/Discipline Stress. Psychometric evaluation also revealed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Total self-efficacy scores for 135 school refusers ranged from very low to very high. Self-efficacy was highest with regard to doing school work and lowest with regard to answering peers' questions about absences. The clinical utility of the SEQ-SS is discussed, with implications for the selection of cognitive and behavioural treatment procedures. The application of the instrument in future research is also considered.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1998

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