The Diabetes Empowerment Scale: a measure of psychosocial self-efficacy.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess the validity, reliability, and utility of the Diabetes Empowerment Scale (DES), which is a measure of diabetes-related psychosocial self-efficacy.


METHODS
In this study (n = 375), the psychometric properties of the DES were calculated. To establish validity, DES subscales were compared with 2 previously validated subscales of the Diabetes Care Profile (DCP). Factor and item analyses were conducted to develop subscales that were coherent, meaningful, and had an acceptable coefficient alpha.


RESULTS
The psychometric analyses resulted in a 28-item DES (alpha = 0.96) with 3 subscales: Managing the Psychosocial Aspects of Diabetes (alpha = 0.93), Assessing Dissatisfaction and Readiness To Change (alpha = 0.81), and Setting and Achieving Diabetes Goals (alpha = 0.91). Consistent correlations in the expected direction between DES subscales and DCP subscales provided evidence of concurrent validity.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides preliminary evidence that the DES is a valid and reliable measure of diabetes-related psychosocial self-efficacy. The DES should be a useful outcome measure for various educational and psychosocial interventions related to diabetes.
Anderson
R M
RM
Department of Medical Education, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor 48109-0201, USA. boba@umich.edu
Funnell
M M
MM
Fitzgerald
J T
JT
Marrero
D G
DG
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000523:psychology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity