ADAPTATION OF THE FATHER SELF-EFFICACY SCALE TO TURKISH CULTURE AND EXAMINATION OF ITS PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES

Abstract

Most information on parenting self-efficacy, which directly and indirectly affects child development by affecting the interaction between children and parents and parenting behaviors, was obtained with instruments developed for mothers and validated on mothers. Using assessment tools based on men's perceptions of the parenting role will contribute to obtaining more accurate results in assessing fathers' self-efficacy perceptions. This study aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish form of the Father Self-Efficacy Scale. The psychometric properties of the Turkish form of the scale were examined by analyzing the data obtained from 1142 fathers with children between 12-36 months. For validity and reliability, language validity, construct validity, and criterion-based validity analyses, internal consistency and test-retest reliability analyses were conducted. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the scale retained the original three-dimensional structure, and the model-data fit was acceptable. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was found to be 0.80 for the whole scale and 0.78, 0.71, and 0.76 for the sub-dimensions, respectively. These results indicate that the Turkish version of the scale is appropriate for Turkish culture in determining the parenting self-efficacy of fathers with children between 12-36 months. © 2025, Inonu University. All rights reserved.