Applicability assessment and application of the general self-efficacy scale among medical postgraduates / 中华医学教育探索杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To assess the reliability, constructive validity and item characteristics of the general self-efficacy scale (GSES) among Chinese medical postgraduates using classical test theory and item response theory.Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted among 1 021 medical postgraduates from 6 comprehensive level Ⅲ A hospitals in Beijing. Demographic characteristics and general self-efficacy were investigated. SPSS 24.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Internal consistency of the GSES was evaluated using Cronbach’s α coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient. Factor analyses were implemented to test the structure of the scale. An item response theory (IRT) framework with a graded response model was performed to estimate the parameters of each item. Results:The overall Cronbach’s α coefficient of the GSES was 0.92. Parallel analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensional structure of the GSES. The discrimination parameter of the 10 items ranged from 1.82 to 3.65, and the difficulty parameter ranged from -3.51 to 1.66, with a monotonically increasing trend. The maximum test information of the scale among medical postgraduates was 19.16. Conclusion:The GSES has good reliability, validity and measurement precision, showing a good applicability in the survey of medical postgraduates. However, the difficulty of specific items is relatively low, and the scale may be further optimized and improved.