The role of self-efficacy in inflammatory bowel disease management: preliminary validation of a disease-specific measure.
BACKGROUND
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) require self-management skills that may be influenced by self-efficacy (SE). Self-efficacy represents an individual's perception of his or her ability to organize and execute the behaviors necessary to manage disease. The goal of this study was to develop a valid and reliable measure of IBD-specific SE that can be used in clinical and research contexts.


METHODS
One hundred and twenty-two adults with a verified IBD diagnosis participated in the study. Data were pooled from 2 sources: patients from an outpatient university gastroenterology clinic (n=42) and a sample of online respondents (n=80). All participants (N=122) completed the IBD Self-Efficacy Scale (IBD-SES) and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire. Additionally, online participants completed the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, whereas those in the clinic sample completed the Perceived Health Competence Scale, the Perceived Stress Questionnaire, and the Short Form Version 2 Health Survey.


RESULTS
The IBD-SES was initially constructed to identify 4 distinct theoretical domains of self-efficacy: (1) managing stress and emotions, (2) managing medical care, (3) managing symptoms and disease, and (4) maintaining remission. The 29-item IBD-SES has high internal consistency (r=0.96), high test-retest reliability (r=0.90), and demonstrates strong construct and concurrent validity with established measures.


CONCLUSIONS
The IBD-SES is a critical first step toward addressing an important psychological construct that could influence treatment outcomes in IBD.
Keefer
Laurie
L
Center for Psychosocial Research in Gastroenterology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. laurie.keefer@northwestern.edu
Kiebles
Jennifer L
JL
Taft
Tiffany H
TH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult