The Offender Job Search Self-Efficacy Scale: Development an Initial Validation

The purpose of this study was to develop the Offender Job Search Self-Efficacy Scale (OFJSSE) for the specific job search needs of the criminal justice population. Participants were 249 male inmates within 2 years of release from a state correctional facility in the southern region of the United States who identified mostly as Caucasian (56.2%), single (62.2%), working-class (45.4%) men with a mean age of 36.27 years (SD = 10.38). Initial validation data are described, including results of an exploratory factor analysis. Results indicated that the OFJSSE presents excellent reliability (a = .95) as well as good convergent and discriminant validity by having a strong. positive correlation, r = .73. p < .01. with another job search scale and having a negative correlation, r = -.19, p = .01, with a scale measuring a different construct (i.e., criminal thinking). Implications of the findings as well as limitations and future directions are discussed.