Portuguese version of the Firefighter Coping Self-Efficacy Scale: Factor structure and psychometric characteristics

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31211/rpics.2022.8.1.244

Keywords:

Firefighters, Self-efficacy, Assessment, Factor structure, Psychometric characteristics, Quantitative study

Abstract

Background and Aim: The current study aimed to translate the Firefighter Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (FFCSE) and explore its dimensionality and psychometric characteristics. Method: This cross-sectional study was authorised by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority and disseminated by firefighters' stations from different districts. A sample of 155 firefighters completed online the following self-report instruments: Firefighter Coping Self-Efficacy Scale, Comprehensive Assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Processes, World Health Organization Index-5, Perceived Stress Scale and Patients Health Questionnaire-4. An exploratory factor analysis was computed, and reliability and validity studies were conducted. Results: The Portuguese version of the FFCSE items revealed, in general, good psychometric characteristics, except for item 10 ("Having dreams about difficult calls"). The factor structure was one-dimensional. The FFCSE showed good internal consistency, and the associations with the other variables were in the expected direction. No differences were found between men and women in the FFCSE mean scores. There was no statistically significant association between the FFCSE and age, years of education or length of service as firefighters. Conclusions: The FFCSE proved to be a one-dimensional measure of perceived self-efficacy to deal with the demands inherent to the firefighter activity. The results suggest that it is a valid and reliable measure, useful in research, clinical and training contexts for these professionals.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bandura, A. (1994). Self–efficacy. In Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71–81). Academic Press.

Bandura, A. (2009). Cultivate self-efficacy for personal and organisational effectiveness. In E. A. Locke (Ed). Handbook of principles of organisational behavior (2nd ed., pp. 179–200). JohnWiley & Sons.

Betz, N. E., & Luzzo, D. A. (1996). Career assessment and the career decision-making self- efficacy scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 4(4), 413–442. https://doi.org/cvtdcf

Bing-Canar, H., Ranney, R., McNett, S., Tran, J. K., Berenz, E. C., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2019). Alcohol use problems, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicide risk among trauma-exposed firefighters. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 207(3), 192–198. https://doi.org/hm2h

Chen, G., Gully, S. M., & Eden, D. (2001). Validation of a new general self-efficacy scale. Organizational Research Methods, 4(1), 62–83. https://doi.org/dnv3xx

Chiang, E. S., Riordan, K. M., Ponder, J., Johnson, C., & Cox, K. S. (2021). Distinguishing firefighters with subthreshold PTSD from firefighters with probable PTSD or low symptoms. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 26(1), 65–77. https://doi.org/hm2j

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Erlbaum.

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). Perceived stress scale (PSS). Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385–396.

Cousineau, T. M., Green, T. C., Corsini, E. A., Barnard, T., Seibring, A. R., & Domar, A. D. (2006). Development and validation of the infertility self-efficacy scale. Fertility and Sterility, 85(6), 1684–1696. https://doi.org/dmbvgb

De Smul, M., Heirweg, S., Van Keer, H., Devos, G., & Vandevelde, S. (2018). How competent do teachers feel instructing self-regulated learning strategies? Development and validation of the teacher self-efficacy scale to implement self-regulated learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 71, 214–225. https://doi.org/gdfmgf

Erkut, S. (2010). Developing multiple language versions of instruments for intercultural research. Child Development Perspectives, 4(1), 19–24. https://doi.org/bz92sg

Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (4th ed.). Sage Publications.

Francis, A. W., Dawson, D. L., & Golijani-Moghaddam, N. (2016). The development and validation of the Comprehensive assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes (CompACT). Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 5(3), 134–145. https://doi.org/gdj5ms

Graham, E. L., Khaja, S., Caban-Martinez, A. J., & Smith, D. L. (2021). Firefighters and COVID-19: An occupational health perspective. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 63(8), e556–e563. https://doi.org/gm3t8x

Harvey, S. B., Milligan-Saville, J. S., Paterson, H. M., Harkness, E. L., Marsh, A. M., Dobson, M., & Bryant, R. A. (2016). The mental health of fire-fighters: an examination of the impact of repeated trauma exposure. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 50(7), 649–658. https://doi.org/hm2k

International Test Commission. (2017). The ITC guidelines for translating and adapting tests (2nd ed.). www.InTestCom.org/pag/14

Jahnke, S. A., Haddock, C. K., Jitnarin, N., Kaipust, C. M., Hollerbach, B. S., & Poston, W. S. (2019). The prevalence and health impacts of frequent work discrimination and harassment among women firefighters in the US fire service. BioMed Research International, 2019, Article 6740207. https://doi.org/ghjcrt

Jahnke, S. A., Poston, W. S., Haddock, C. K., & Murphy, B. (2016). Firefighting and mental health: Experiences of repeated exposure to trauma. Work 53(4), 737–744. https://doi.org/hm2m

Kline, T. J. (2005). Psychological testing: A practical approach to design and evaluation. Sage Publications.

Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B., & Löwe, B. (2009). An ultra-brief screening scale for anxiety and depression: The PHQ-4. Psychosomatics, 50(6), 613–621. https://doi.org/dcmq53

Lambert, J. E., Benight, C. C., Harrison, E., & Cieslak, R. (2012). The firefighter coping self-efficacy scale: Measure development and validation. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 25(1), 79–91. https://doi.org/ddvmn3

Lima, E. D. P., Vasconcelos, A. G., Corrêa, L. R. T., & Batista, A. G. (2020). Frontline losses: Absenteeism among firefighters during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Revista Brasileira de Saúde Ocupacional, 45, 1–11. https://doi.org/hm2n

Makara-Studzinska, M., Golonka, K., & Izydorczyk, B. (2019). Self-efficacy as a moderator between stress and professional burnout in firefighters. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(2), 183–199. https://doi.org/gf9qw8

Nayak, M. S. D. P., & Narayan, K. A. (2019). Strengths and weaknesses of online surveys. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 24(5), 31–38. https://bit.ly/3wxHyWo

Panagioti, M., Gooding, P., & Tarrier, N. (2009). Post‐traumatic stress disorder and suicidal behavior: A narrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(6), 471–482. https://doi.org/bjnx5z

Prezant, D. J., Zeig-Owens, R., Schwartz, T., Liu, Y., Hurwitz, K., Beecher, S., & Weiden, M. D. (2020). Medical leave associated with COVID-19 among emergency medical system responders and firefighters in New York City. JAMA Network Open, 3(7), e2016094-e2016094. https://doi.org/gmmnwd

Sawhney, G., Jennings, K. S., Britt, T. W., & Sliter, M. T. (2018). Occupational stress and mental health symptoms: examining the moderating effect of work recovery strategies in firefighters. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 23(3), 443–456. https://doi.org/gj62g2

Sellbom, M., & Tellegen, A. (2019). Factor analysis in psychological assessment research: Common pitfalls and recommendations. Psychological Assessment, 31(12), 1428–1441. https://doi.org/ggf2k9

Sharifi N., Basharpoor S., & Narimani M. (2021). Comparison of the effectiveness of resilience training and emotion regulation on psychological well-being and self-efficacy of firefighters. Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology, 8(4), 199–204. https://doi.org/hm2r

Sherer, M., Maddux, J. E., Mercandante, B., Prentice-Dunn, S., Jacobs, B., & Rogers, R. W. (1982). The self-efficacy scale: Construction and validation. Psychological Reports, 51(2), 663–671. https://doi.org/b5zsjt

Sindena, K. E., Sayeda, S., MacDermidb, J. C., Bolducc, R., & Tellaa, E. (2021). Supporting firefighter mental health during COVID-19: A scoping review. Canadian Institutes of Health Research. https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52045.html

Stanley I. H., Hom M. A., Hagan C. R., & Joiner T. E. (2015). Career prevalence and correlates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among firefighters. Journal of Affective Disorders, 187, 163–171. https://doi.org/f7scqn

Sturt, J., Hearnshaw, H., & Wakelin, M. (2010). Validity and reliability of the DMSES UK: a measure of self-efficacy for type 2 diabetes self-management. Primary Health Care Research & Development, 11(4), 374–381. https://doi.org/c95kb2

Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics: International edition. Pearson.

Team, J. A. S. P. (2018). JASP (Version 0.9) [Computer software]. https://jasp-stats. org.

Trigo, M., Canudo, N., Branco, F., & Silva, D. (2010). Estudo das propriedades psicométricas da Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) na população portuguesa. Psychologica, (53), 353–378. https://doi.org/hm2s

Trindade, I. A., Ferreira, N. B., Mendes, A. L., Ferreira, C., Dawson, D., & Golijani-Moghaddam, N. (2021). Comprehensive assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes (CompACT): Measure refinement and study of measurement invariance across Portuguese and UK samples. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 21, 30–36. https://doi.org/gj4zd3

Tsai, M. J., Wang, C. Y., & Hsu, P. F. (2019). Developing the computer programming self-efficacy scale for computer literacy education. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 56(8), 1345–1360. https://doi.org/gfssx4

Vujanovic, A. A., Lebeaut, A., & Leonard, S. (2021). Exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of first responders. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 50(4), 1–16. https://doi.org/gmc6tm

Wagner, S., & Pasca, R. (2019). Recruit firefighters: a longitudinal investigation of mental health and work. International Journal of Emergency Services, 9(2), 143–152. https://doi.org/hm2t

World Health Organization. (1998). Wellbeing measures in primary health care/the DEPCARE project. WHO Regional Office for Europe. https://bit.ly/3wESLER

World Health Organization. (2020). Frontline workers and COVID: Coping with stress. WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. https://bit.ly/3iA2rrI

World Population Review. (2021). Portuguese speaking countries 2021. https://bit.ly/3D8vTP8

Wright, K. B. (2005). Researching Internet-based populations: Advantages and disadvantages of online survey research, online questionnaire authoring software packages, and web survey services. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(3), Article JCMC1034. https://doi.org/d7z5cr

Yong, F. L. (2010). A study on the self-efficacy and expectancy for success of pre-university students. European Journal of Social Sciences, 13(4), 514–524. https://bit.ly/3Nmv5uS

Downloads

Published

2022-04-01

How to Cite

Moniz, S., & Galhardo, A. (2022). Portuguese version of the Firefighter Coping Self-Efficacy Scale: Factor structure and psychometric characteristics. Portuguese Journal of Behavioral and Social Research, 8(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.31211/rpics.2022.8.1.244

Issue

Section

Original Paper

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>