Perceived Self-Efficacy in the Management and Prevention of Depression: German Adaptation and Validation of a Brief Self-Report Measure

There are indications that perceived self-efficacy in the management and prevention of depression mediates health outcomes and depressive relapse. To date, however, validated measurements for this construct exist only in English. This study validates the German adaptation (DSW Scale) of the original English Self-efficacy for Managing Depression scale (Bush et al., 2001). The analysis is based on N = 377 primary-care patients with depressive symptoms who completed the DSW Scale at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months. The internal consistency was good at all assessments (Cronbach's a alpha >= .85). The retest reliability assessed between baseline and 3 months was satisfactory (r(tt) = .63). The responsiveness of the scale was confirmed by a two-factorial ANOVA with repeated measurement. The longitudinal measurement invariance confirmed the comparable structure of the data at each assessment. The construct validity of the scale was demonstrated by high correlations with related constructs. Predictive validity assessed by multiple regression analyses showed that the scale significantly predicted depressive symptoms at 6 months. The results demonstrate that the German DSW Scale meets common psychometric standards and presents a time-efficient and reliable measurement for use in clinic and research.