title: Development and validation of a cervical cancer screening self-efficacy scale for low-income Mexican American women.
abstract: Although self-efficacy, a construct from social cognitive theory, has been shown to influence other screening behaviors, few measures currently exist for measuring Papanicolaou test self-efficacy. This article describes the development and psychometric testing of such a measure for Mexican American women. Data from two separate samples of Mexican American women ages>or=50 years, obtained as part of a study to develop and evaluate a breast and cervical cancer screening educational program, were used in the current study. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a single-factor solution and all item loadings were >0.73. Confirmatory analysis confirmed a single-factor structure with all standardized loadings>0.40 as hypothesized. The eight-item self-efficacy scale showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.95). As hypothesized, self-efficacy was correlated with knowledge, prior experience, and screening intention. Logistic regression supported the theoretical relationship that women with higher self-efficacy were more likely to have had a recent Papanicolaou test. Findings showed a significant increase in self-efficacy following the intervention, indicating that the measure has good sensitivity to change over time.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin Suite 2558, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Maria.E.Fernandez@uth.tmc.edu
authors.forename: María E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Pamela M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Diamond
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rakowski
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gonzales
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tortolero-Luna
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Daisy Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Morales-Campos
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002140:California; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D011203:Poverty; D011594:Psychometrics; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013781:Texas; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data