Aging and health: Self-efficacy for Self-direction in Health Scale

OBJECTIVE: To validate the Escala de Autoeficácia para a Autodireção na Saúde (EAAS – Self-efficacy for Self-direction in Health Scale). METHODS: Non-experimental quantitative study of EAAS validation, by confirmatory factorial analyses, evaluating a sample of 508 older adults from the north and the center of Portugal with mean age of 71.67 (from 51 to 96 years), to whom the Self-efficacy for Self-direction in Health Scale, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale were applied. The EAAS was developed from the theoretical constructs of self-efficacy and from self-directed learning within the PALADIN European project framework, aiming to develop an instrument able to assess the extent to which older adults take good care of their health. RESULTS: The internal consistency was 0.87 (Cronbach’s alpha) and confirmatory factorial analyses enabled to find a model near the one theoretically proposed, indicating a structure consisting of four dimensions: physical exercise, healthy diet, engaging in health-related learning, and visits to health professionals. From the psychometric point of view, the model in four factors showed quite satisfactory fit indicators. CONCLUSIONS: The Self-efficacy for Self-direction in Health Scale, with 16 items, is adequate to evaluate to what extent older adults have confidence in their ability to take care of their own health, with high degree of autonomy.