Psychometric Properties of the Arabic versions of the 3-item General Self-Efficacy Short Scale–3 (GSE-3), and the Internal–External Locus of Control Short Scale–4 (IE-4)

Abstract

Abstract Background Because general self-efficacy (GSE) and locus of control (LoC) interfere with many areas of life and affect numerous health aspects, high-quality measurements of these constructs as context variables for different research areas are a necessary requirement to advance our knowledge in this field and improve people's physical and mental health. We aimed to contribute to this field by validating the Arabic versions of two ultra-short measures, the 3-item General Self-Efficacy Short Scale–3 (GSE-3) and the Internal–External Locus of Control Short Scale–4 (IE-4). Method A one-time-point online survey was conducted among Arabic-speaking community adults from the general population of Lebanon (N = 601; mean age 29.91 ± 12.61; 62.7% females). The forward–backward translation procedure was adopted to develop the Arabic versions of the GES-3 and the IE-4. Results The results of the Exploratory Factor Analyses showed that the GSE-3’ s items converged over a one-factor solution in the total sample, in men and women respectively. Furthermore, the IE-4’s items converged over a two-factor solution in those three groups, respectively. Internal consistency of the two Arabic scales showed acceptable results in our sample, with Cronbach alpha coefficients of .93 for the GSE-3, of .75 for the internal and .49 for the External LoC factors of the IE-4. Convergent validity evidence was confirmed based on the correlations of the GSE-3 and the IE-4 between each other. Furthermore, we found that Internal LoC and GSE correlated negatively with psychological distress variables (i.e., depression, anxiety and stress), in contrast with external LoC that showed positive correlations with these variables. Conclusion Findings suggest that the Arabic GSE-3 and IE-4 are reliable, valid, and suitable to be applied in the large Arabic-speaking adult populations. Clinicians and researchers working in Arabic-speaking settings and nations with limited resources are now offered the possibility of using psychometrically sound measures of GSE, internal and external LoC in a convenient, time-efficient and economical way.