Testing the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale among Saudi nursing students

The study tested the validity and reliability of the “Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale” Arabic version (DRSES-A) among Saudi nursing students. Disaster self-efficacy is one such factor of increasing interest. Little research has explored disaster response self-efficacy despite growing evidence on disaster response preparedness in Saudi Arabia. A systematic, standardized and valid instrument is needed to assess disaster self-efficacy in the Saudi context. The DRSES is one of the tools with excellent psychometric properties that can evaluate the nursing students’ perceived self-efficacy in disaster preparation, mitigation and response. This investigation is a quantitative methodological design testing the validity and reliability of the DRSES-A. In this study, 290 Saudi nursing students were surveyed from May to June 2021 in the three government universities in Saudi Arabia using the convenience sampling technique. The Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale underwent a linguistic adaptation following a forward-backward translation method. Construct validity was established using the principal component analysis to extract the components of DRSES-A. The overall mean of the DRSES-A was 3.41 (SD = 0.75). The overall Cronbach alpha was 0.939. The subscales "Onsite rescue" and "Psychological nursing" had a similar alpha of 0.911, while "Role quality and adaptation" had a computed alpha of 0.878. The expert rated all item content validity index as 1 with an average score content validity index of 1. The principal component analysis supported a three-factor DRSES-A. The DRSES-A is a valid and reliable scale that can measure Arabic-speaking baccalaureate nursing students' self-reported disaster response self-efficacy.