Toward measurement of self-efficacy for cross-cultural research

Sarah Katherine Nowak

doi:10.7273/000005860

Current movements toward standards of multicultural competence in psychology focus on the "practitioner" end of the "scientist-practitioner" training model. This study was designed to meet a need for definition and assessment of multicultural competence among "scientists." The purpose of the study was to develop and validate a self-report measure of Self-Efficacy in Cross-Cultural Research (SECCR). Previous self-report measures of multicultural counseling competence have been criticized for measuring participants perceived ability (i.e., self-efficacy) as opposed to actual multicultural counseling competence (Constantine, 2001a; Constantine & Ladany, 2000; Ladany et al., 1997). In light of these critiques, the instrument developed in this study draws its conceptual base from self-efficacy theory, along with standards of multicultural counseling competence and guidelines for cross-cultural research. In this study, 374 graduate students in counseling and clinical psychology completed the Research Self-Efficacy Scale (RSES; Bieschke, et al., 1996), the Multicultural Counseling Inventory (MCI; Sodowsky, et al., 1994), the Multicultural Social Desirability Index (MCSD; Sodowsky, 1996), a demographic questionnaire and the author-developed Research Involvement Questionnaire (RIQ) and Self-Efficacy for Cross-Cultural Research (SECCR) measure. Hypotheses were: 1) Self-efficacy for cross-cultural research is a multidimensional construct comprised of five domains, 2) SECCR full scale scores will be moderately predicted by general research self efficacy and multicultural counseling competence, beyond the prediction provided by multicultural social desirability, and 3) SECCR full scale scores will be predicted by previous cross-cultural/multicultural training and research involvement. All three hypotheses were at least partially supported. Results for Hypothesis 1 suggest that self-efficacy for cross-cultural research is a construct that can be reliably measured, and that it includes the following dimensions: Cultural Awareness and Conceptualization; Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting; and Relationships with Community and Collaborators. As predicted in Hypothesis 2, general research self-efficacy and multicultural counseling competence both predicted SECCR scores beyond the prediction provided by other demographic variables and multicultural social desirability. In the test of Hypothesis 3, SECCR subscales showed discriminant validity in that cross-cultural/multicultural training predicted all three SECCR subscales, while research experience only predicted the Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting subscale. Strengths, limitations, future directions, and applications of the SECCR are discussed.

Toward measurement of self-efficacy for cross-cultural research

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