Measuring self-efficacy in people with multiple sclerosis: a validation study.

Objective: To assess the psychometric properties of a measure of self-efficacy in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Design: Cross-sectional study by mail with retest.

Setting: MS Clinic registry of a large Boston teaching hospital .

Patients: 141 MS patients representing a broad range of disability.

Main Outcome Measures: The MS Self-Efficacy Scale (MSSE), the Expanded Disability Status Scale, the Sickness Impact Profile, and the mastery subscale of the Ryff Happiness Scale.

Results: The MSSE has high internal consistency and test-retest reliability, both for the overall scale and for the SE Function and SE Control subscales. Results of convergent and divergent validity analyses suggest that the scale is both sensitive and specific.

Conclusions: We conclude that MSSE is appropriate for assessing self-efficacy in the MS population.