A validity assessment of a self-report scale of self-management practices

Results from administration of Life Style Approaches (LSA), a self-report scale of self-management processes, were used in assessing the psychometric features of the instrument. Factors of the LSA were correlated with a number of variables presumed to have varying degrees of conceptual linkage with self-management: locus of control, self-efficacy, health behaviors, and religious beliefs and practices. Seven hundred and thirty-five college students and adults were administered the LSA and comparison inventories. The original 48-item scale was reduced to 22 items that yielded an internal consistency value of .80 (Cronbach's alpha). The six identified factors were Performance Focus and Efficiency, Goal Directedness, Timeliness of Task Accomplishment, Organization of Physical Space, Written Plans for Change, and Verbal Support for Self-Management. Significant relationships were demonstrated (at the .0001 level) between self-management approaches and locus of control (r= -.32), general self-efficacy (r=.69), social self-efficacy (r=.40), and health behaviors (r=.32). Individuals who scored high on the first four of the six LSA factors were more likely to demonstrate good health habits than those who did not. Self-reported religious beliefs and practices were unrelated to total LSA scores.