Psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Scale of Child Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is associated with better social skills, lower levels of aggressiveness and better school performance. For this reason, having valid instruments for its measurement is essential in the school environment. The objective of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Child Self-Efficacy Scale (EMA-infantil, Oros, 2017) in a sample of 225 Ecuadorian students with a mean age of 9.97 years. An analysis of items was performed, finding that item 3 and the sports factor of self-efficacy had low discrimination rates and item-rest of the test ratio. A confirmatory factor analysis was continued in which it was found that item 3 does not load well within the social self-efficacy factor, the items of sports self-efficacy had low factor loads and residuals higher than expected (RMSEA and RMSR > .07). Therefore, the possibility of a two-factor model was analyzed without taking into account the sport self-efficacy items and removing item 3, obtaining good adjustment indices TLI = .96 and residuals RMSEA = .04, RMSR = .05. The reliability indices for each factor were: Academic = .84, Social = .85, and Sports = .6. The results obtained show that the EMA scale is a valid instrument in the measurement of academic and social self-efficacy, however, the use of the sports scale is not recommended due to its poor psychometric properties.