RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF A SELF-EFFICACY INSTRUMENT FOR PROTECTIVESEXUAL BEHAVIORS

The authors investigated the psychometric properties of a 22-item scal e that measured respondents' perceptions of their ability to refuse se xual intercourse, question potential sexual partners, and use condoms. Two hundred twenty-one male and female undergraduates completed an an onymous questionnaire that measured a wide range of constructs. The sc ale exhibited good internal consistency, and convergent validity was d emonstrated for 5 sexual behavior items (number of sexual partners eve r and in the past 3 months, condom use in past 3 months, at last inter course, and in the future). The instrument appeared to be free of soci al desirability bias and was reliable and valid for assessing college students' self-efficacy for protective sexual behaviors. College healt hcare professionals could administer the instrument to help students d etermine their levels of self-efficacy for engaging in self-protective behaviors and identify domains in which they may need to improve thei r skills to reduce their risks of acquiring a sexually transmitted dis ease or having or causing an unplanned pregnancy.