The Development and Psychometric Evaluation Study of Self-Efficacy for Protecting Adolescences from Substance Abuse Scale

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to develop a scale in order to measure perceived self-efficacy beliefs of high school students regarding protection from substance abuse. Methods: 1100 (526 female, 524 male) high school students participated in the validity and reliability studies. Content analysis and exploratory factor analysis was applied in the validity study. Item discriminations were determined and the reliability of scale was tested by calculating the Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient. Results: The Self-Efficacy for Adolescences Protecting Substance Abuse Scale (SEAPSAS) explained 50.3% of the total variance. The scale was composed of 24 items with four factors and one control item. Regarding the experts' opinion, sub scales were named as Staying Away from Drugs/Stimulant Drugs-General (12 items), Staying Away From Drugs/Stimulant Drugs-Under Pressure (4 items), Help-Seeking about Drugs/Stimulant Drugs (4 items), Supporting a Friend about Drugs/Stimulant Drugs (3 items). The Cronbach internal consistency coefficient of the whole scale was found to be 0.81. The internal consistency of sub scales were ranged from 0.45 to 0.87. The test-retest correlation was significant (p<0.001) and positively correlated. Conclusion: These results suggest that the 24-item scale with four sub-scales for high school students is a reliable and valid measure. We advocate further research to find out the validity of the scale among individuals from different socioeconomic and education settings. Finally, the SEAPSAS may provide useful practical information to measure effectiveness of substance abuse prevention programmes.