The Maternal Self-efficacy Scale for Preventing Early Childhood Diarrhea: Validity and Reliability

Objective This study aimed to develop and validate a psychometric scale for preventing early childhood diarrhea in endemic areas. Design and Sample Before applying to the field, the scale was subjected to content validity by a panel of experts and piloting. The final version was applied to 448 mothers of children 0‐ to 5‐year‐olds, living in Fortaleza, northeast Brazil. Structured interviews were conducted to identify diarrheal episodes in the study children. Results Significant negative correlations were found between higher maternal self‐efficacy scores and previous childhood diarrhea (p = .001). In addition, positive correlations were found with maternal age (p = .018). The frequency of children (6–36 months old) with diarrhea was significantly lower when scale scores were higher (p = .015). The predictive validity revealed that high levels of maternal self‐efficacy were a protective factor against childhood diarrhea. Cronbachs alpha was .84. Conclusions The scale was found reliable. Cultural adjustments may be needed to extrapolate the scale to other endemic areas worldwide.