The New General Self-Efficacy Scale: A Matter of Language

Abstract

General Self-Efficacy (GSE) scales are used to measure the extent to which individuals possess a general sense of mastery that is not tied to a specific situation or behavior. The present study assesses whether the language in which a GSE scale is presented yields different responses in Arabic-English bilingual female students and whether differences can be traced to emotional reactions triggered by cultural norms dictating modesty in attitudes and behavioral expression. Female students residing in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completed the New General Self-Efficacy (NGSE) scale and reported the valence and intensity of their reactions to each of the statements of the scale. The English version of NGSE produced higher scores than the Arabic version. Because arousal was either minimally related to NGSE scores (English version) or not related at all (Arabic version), the higher reported arousal of the English version may be due to the lower automaticity with which a second language is processed. For the English version, the higher the NGSE scores, the more positive was the emotional response to the statements of the scale, whereas for the Arabic version, the higher the NGSE scores, the less positive was the emotional response. If disapproval of the individualistic, self-focused approach of the NGSE scale is inferred from the valence of participants' reactions, the results of the present investigation are consistent with the notion that Arabic can trigger cultural codes of modesty.

Translation of Well-being Assessment Instruments in African Contexts: A Mapping Review and Future Directions

“…None of the studies reported test-retest reliability for the African language versions of the instruments. There are also recent indications of differences in obtained scores when the same sample of participants complete both the English language and native language versions of a questionnaire, especially when emotional responses and cultural orientations are triggered [56] . The present researchers did not identify any sample in the translated measures where both English language and African language versions were tested in the same study.…”