title: Psychometric properties of the self-efficacy for situational communication management questionnaire (SESMQ).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Perceived self-efficacy (PSE) is one's beliefs in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations. In audiologic rehabilitation, PSE could influence a person with hearing loss' activity limitations, participation restrictions, and response to audiologic rehabilitation. This article reports the psychometric properties of the Self-Efficacy for Situational Communication Management Questionnaire (SESMQ), developed to measure PSE for managing communication in adults with acquired hearing loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  The SESMQ contains 20 situations that are rated on two scales (hearing ability and PSE). Respondents rate how well they can hear from 0 (not well at all) to 10 (very well) and their degree of confidence in managing communication in the situation, or PSE, from 0 (not confident at all) to 10 (very confident). Total scores on each scale can range from 0 to 200, with higher scores indicating greater hearing ability or PSE. Psychometric properties were determined using data collected from The National Centre for Audiology (London, Canada) and the Communication Disability Centre at The University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia). Participants were 338 adults aged 50 to 93 years with an average high-frequency pure-tone hearing loss in the better ear of 46 dB HL; 157 of the participants owned hearing aids.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A two-factor solution was found to be optimal for the SESMQ, with hearing ability accounting for 46.4% of the variation and confidence accounting for 11.6% of the variation in SESMQ scores. Test-retest reliability on a subset of 40 participants resulted in intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.94 for the SESMQ, 0.93 for the hearing ability scale, and 0.94 for the confidence scale, The SESMQ and its scales exhibited high internal consistency, with Cronbach's α of 0.94 for the SESMQ, 0.93 for the hearing ability scale, and 0.94 for the confidence scale. Participants scored lower on the hearing scale items (92.6, SD = 37.1), on average, than on the PSE scale items (123.0, SD = 37.9). SESMQ hearing ability scores were significantly associated with duration of hearing loss, and duration of hearing aid ownership. Only the hearing ability scale of the SESMQ was negatively associated with hearing loss when controlling for age. SESMQ hearing ability and confidence scores were negatively associated with consequences of hearing loss and negative beliefs and attitudes toward hearing loss and its consequences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results support the SESMQ as an informative measure of PSE specific to communication for adults with hearing loss. The SESMQ may prove useful in both research and clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: 1National Centre for Audiology, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Graduate Program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; 2Communication Disability Centre, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; and 3Eriksholm Research Centre, Oticon A/S, Snekkersten, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mary Beth
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.forename: Margaret F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Cheesman
authors.forename: Ariane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laplante-Lévesque
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003142:Communication; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000523:psychology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires