title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Maternal and Child Health Department, University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cecil
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Pinkerton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015982:Bias; D017280:Condoms; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012928:Social Desirability; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*