Self-Efficacy in Persian Adolescents: Psychometric Properties of a Persian Version of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C)

This study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a Persian version of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) among Iranian adolescents. The scale was translated into Persian and administered to 946 high school students (49.8% girls, ages 14 through 19). Participants also completed the Child Depression Inventory, Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, and Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Finally, participants' grade point averages were collected. Confirmatory factor analysis upheld the original 3-factor structure: social, academic, and emotional self-efficacy. Findings supported the Persian version of the SEQ-C's internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The SEQ-C was related to other constructs in empirically and theoretically expected ways. With respect to gender, there was some noninvariance in factor structure and mean-level gender differences. Other results indicated that girls reported higher social and academic self-efficacy, but lower emotional self-efficacy, relative to boys. The Persian version of the SEQ-C was found to be a valid and reliable measure of self-efficacy among Persian adolescents.