The Contraceptive Self-Efficacy Scale: Analysis in Four Samples

Previous research has established a relationship between Contraceptive Self-Efficacy (CSE), as measured by the 18-item CSE scale, and young women's contraceptive behavior (Bilodeau, Forget, and Tetreault, 1994; Heinrich, 1993; Levinson, 1986; Wright, 1992). In this paper, we continue to explore the scale and its relationship to contraceptive behavior with four diverse samples to establish generalizability and to set guidelines for use of the scale. A series of correlational analyses were conducted with each sample. A pattern of low correlations among CSE items across samples emerged, indicating that use of the total item set separately as the basis for CSE was warranted. Zero-order and partial correlations revealed which CSE items were correlated with contraceptive behavior as well as which items explained unique variance in contraceptive behavior for each sample. Regression analyses showed that CSE was significantly predictive of contraceptive behavior for all samples. These results are discussed in terms of scale properties and use in research and clinical settings. Educational implications are formulated as well.