Perceived Self-Efficacy Scales

Abstract

The Perceived Self-Efficacy Scales represent a robust battery of psychological instruments developed primarily by Guido V. Caprara, Albert Bandura, and their colleagues. This assessment tool is designed to measure domain-specific efficacy beliefs within the complex context of family relationships, drawing heavily from Social Cognitive Theory. The battery is segmented into four distinct subscales: Perceived Filial Self-Efficacy, Perceived Parental Self-Efficacy, Perceived Marital Self-Efficacy, and Perceived Collective Family Efficacy.

These scales provide a metric for an individual’s perceived capability to execute the necessary actions required for effective communication, conflict management, and mutual support across various family subsystems. The instrument is crucial for researchers investigating how perceived competence influences relational quality, stability, and overall family functioning.

Keywords

Self-Efficacy, Family Efficacy, Filial Efficacy, Parental Efficacy, Marital Efficacy, Albert Bandura, Social Cognitive Theory, Family Dynamics, Relational Competence, Psychological Assessment.

Authors

Guido V. Caprara, Claudio Regalia, Eugenia Scabini, Claudio Barbaranelli, Albert Bandura.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Perceived Self-Efficacy Scales is to quantitatively assess the strength of an individual’s conviction regarding their ability to successfully manage the challenges and demands inherent in various family roles. By focusing on specific, context-dependent efficacy beliefs, the instrument allows for a nuanced understanding of relational competence that general self-efficacy measures might miss.

The scales are particularly valuable for clinical and developmental research aimed at identifying the personal resources and efficacy beliefs that buffer stress, promote adaptive behavior, and enhance satisfaction within the marital, parent-child, and overall family unit. They serve as predictors of positive outcomes, such as conflict avoidance and effective goal attainment within the family setting.

Construct

The scales measure Perceived Self-Efficacy, a core construct of Albert Bandura‘s theory, which refers to an individual’s belief in their capacity to exert control over their own motivation, behavior, and social environment. This battery operationalizes this construct across four relational domains:

• Filial Self-Efficacy: Measures the perceived competence of children (including adolescents and adult children) in maintaining positive and constructive relationships with their parents, particularly during times of tension or disagreement.
• Parental Self-Efficacy: Measures a parent’s belief in their ability to guide, support, and effectively discipline their children while promoting their autonomy and managing family demands.
• Marital Self-Efficacy: Measures a spouse’s belief in their capability to foster intimacy, resolve conflicts constructively, and maintain a supportive relationship with their partner.
• Collective Family Efficacy: Measures the shared belief of family members in the unit’s capacity to function effectively as a whole, addressing external stressors, achieving shared goals, and maintaining cohesive support.

Validity

The validity of the Perceived Self-Efficacy Scales is well-established through multiple studies, notably the foundational work published in the European Journal of Psychological Assessment (Caprara et al., 2004). Construct validity is supported by the clear theoretical derivation from Self-efficacy theory, demonstrating that the items accurately reflect the specified domain of perceived competence.

Furthermore, strong criterion validity has been shown, as scores on the subscales consistently predict relevant behavioral outcomes. For instance, high Parental Self-Efficacy is associated with better child adjustment, while high Marital Self-Efficacy correlates positively with marital satisfaction and stability. These findings confirm the scales’ utility as meaningful measures of relational competence within the family context.

Reliability

Psychometric evaluations consistently indicate that the Perceived Self-Efficacy Scales possess high internal consistency. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the Filial, Parental, Marital, and Collective Family subscales typically demonstrate high reliability, confirming that the items within each specific scale are highly intercorrelated and reliably measure the intended construct.

The instruments have also been utilized in longitudinal research, providing evidence of adequate test-retest reliability and stability of efficacy beliefs over time, thereby supporting their application in tracking developmental changes and intervention effects.

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis conducted during the scale development process confirms the hypothesized differentiation between the four self-efficacy domains. The analyses successfully extracted distinct factors corresponding to Filial, Parental, Marital, and Collective Family efficacy beliefs. This robust factor structure validates the conceptual separation of relational competence into specific family subsystems, ensuring the distinct measurement of individual and collective efficacy beliefs.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire battery

Format: Multiple scales utilizing a 7-point Likert scale response format, ranging from 1= “Not well at all” to 7= “Very well”.

Language Available: English, Italian, and translations used in international research.

Population Group: Individuals involved in family relationships, including adult children, adolescents, parents, and spouses.

Age Group: Adolescence through adulthood.

Population Details: Used across various demographics for academic research focused on family psychology, developmental psychology, and psychological assessment of relational competence.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked, “How well can you:” perform specific actions related to their respective family role.

Keywords

Family relationships, Conflict resolution, Relational self-efficacy, Parent-child interaction, Marital satisfaction, Collective efficacy, Psychological measures, Self-efficacy assessment.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Contact information for the primary authors (e.g., Guido V. Caprara or Albert Bandura) should be sought through their respective institutional departments (Sapienza University of Rome or Stanford University).

Correspondence Address: Refer to the corresponding author of the original 2004 publication for official inquiries.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The core instrument and assessment methodology were published in 2004 (Caprara et al.). The instrument details are also compiled in Simmons and Lehmann (2013). For specific permissions regarding the use of the scales, researchers should consult the primary authors or the copyright holders, typically the journal or publisher. Information regarding the use of Albert Bandura’s scales can often be found on his official Stanford website: http://stanford.edu/dept/psychology/bandura/pajares/self-efficacy.html.

Reference’s

Bandura, A. (Ed.) (1995). Self-efficacy in changing societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Caprara, G.V., Regalia, C., & Bandura, A. (2002). Longitudinal impact of perceived self-regulatory efficacy on violent conduct. European Psychologist, 7, 63–69.

Caprara, G. V., Regalia, C., Scabini, E., Barbaranelli, C., & Bandura, A. (2004). Assessment of filial, parental, marital, and collective family efficacy beliefs. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 20, 247–261.

Caprara, G.V., Pastorelli, C., Regalia, C., Scabini, E., & Bandura, A. (2005). Impact of adolescents’ filial self-efficacy on family functioning and satisfaction. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15, 71–97.

Bandura, A., Caprara, G.V., Barbaranelli, C., Regalia, C., Scabini, E., (2011). Impact of Family Efficacy Beliefs on Quality of Family Functioning and Satisfaction with Family Life. Applied Psychology: An International review, 60 (3), 421–448.

Caprara, Regalia, Scabini, Barbarenelli, & Bandura, (2004). Perceived Self-Efficacy Scales (Filial, Marital, Parental, and Collective Family). In: Simmons C. A., Lehmann P. (eds). Tools for strengths-based assessment and evaluation, New York, NY: Springer, pp. 440-444. (2013). The instrument is detailed in this publication. The Google Scholar link for the editor’s book is: Google Scholar.

Items of the Perceived Self-Efficacy Scales

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Perceived Filial Self-Efficacy Scale

In relations with your parents: How well can you:

1. Talk with your parents even when your relationship with them is tense
2. Talk with your parent about your personal problems
3. Handle your parent’s intrusions into your privacy without getting irritated about it
4. Prevent differences of opinions with your parents from turning into arguments
5. Talk with your parent about your feelings toward them
6. Get your parents to understand your point of view on matters when it differs from theirs
7. Express your gratitude to your parents for their efforts on your behalf
8. Express your disagreement with your parents without getting angry
9. Get your parents to pay attention to your needs even when they are preoccupied with their own problems
10. Involve your parents in important decisions about your future
11. Take into account your parents’ suggestions when they differ from your preferences
12. Admit when you are wrong and change your opinion
13. Accept your parents’ criticism of you without feeling offended
14. Increase your parents’ trust and appreciation for you
15. Get your parents to trust your judgment and responsibilities
16. Avoid irritation when your parents don’t pay attention to you

Perceived PARENTAL Self-Efficacy Scale

In relations with your son/daughter: How well can you:

1. Help your son/daughter manage problems that he/she has with others
2. Support your son’s/daughter’s self-reliance when he/she feels unable to handle the demands
3. Offer your son/daughter help even when he/she does not ask for it
4. Attend to your son/daughter when you are worried about personal, family, or work matters
5. Handle firmly instances when your son/daughter breaks rules and commitments
6. Offer guidance without intruding on his/her privacy
7. Get your son/daughter to give up friends you do not care for
8. Get your son/daughter to confide in you about his/her worries
9. Accept your son’s/daughter’s criticism of you without being offended
10. Get your son/daughter to talk to you about highly personal matters
11. Talk to your son/daughter about your relationship and feelings for each other
12. Get your son/daughter to set realistic goals and help him/her to achieve them

Perceived MARITAL Self-Efficacy Scale

In your relationship with your wife/husband: How well can you:

1. Set aside time to talk together about things that worry you
2. Prevent disagreements from turning into angry exchanges
3. Respect your spouse’s views on matters even though you disagree with them
4. Deal with problems together without blaming each other
5. Accept criticism without feeling offended
6. Get the support of your spouse when you have personal problems
7. Make your spouse feel important and respected
8. Get your spouse to agree on how to deal with problems with your children and their schooling
9. Get your spouse involved in important decisions about how to run the family
10. Support your spouse when the children ignore what they are asked to do
11. Protect the privacy of your marital relationship
12. Support your spouse in handling conflicts with parents

Perceived COLLECTIVE FAMILY Efficacy Scale

1. Set aside leisure time with your family when other things press for attention
2. Agree to decisions that require some sacrifice of personal interests
3. Resolve conflicts when family members feel they are not being treated fairly
4. Prevent family disagreements from turning into heated arguments
5. Get family members to share household responsibilities
6. Support each other in times of stress
7. Bounce back quickly from adverse experiences
8. Help each other to achieve their personal goals
9. Help each other with work demands
10. Build respect for each other’s particular interests
11. Get family members to carry out their responsibilities when they neglect them
12. Build trust in each other
13. Figure out what choices to make when the family faces important decisions
14. Find community resources and make good use of them for the family
15. Get the family to keep close ties to their larger family
16. Celebrate family traditions even in difficult times
17. Serve as a positive example for the community
18. Remain confident during difficult times
19. Accept each member’s need for independence
20. Cooperate with schools to improve their educational practices