Development and Preliminary Validation of the Dating Violence Prevention Self-Efficacy Scale for School Staff.

ABSTRACT

This article describes the development of an instrument used to evaluate the perceived self-efficacy of school staff in addressing dating violence (DV) among youth. The study employed a mixed exploratory sequential design. First, a series of items was elaborated upon based on the scientific literature on self-efficacy and material from 15 semi-structured interviews conducted with school staff. Then, a sample of 110 school staff members answered an online survey. An exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure reflecting dimensions of self-efficacy in addressing DV communicating DV content to youth (α = .93) and the ability to intervene with youth who experience DV (α = .91). The scale could offer a means to assess the effectiveness of training offered to school counselors and teachers regarding DV prevention.