Work Self-Efficacy Scale and Search for Work Self-Efficacy Scale: A validation study in Spanish and Italian cultural contexts

Abstract. The aim of the current article was to investigate the psychometric properties of two self-efficacy scales – the Work Self-Efficacy Scale (WSES) and Search for Work Self-Efficacy Scale (SWSES) – and their measurement invariance (configural, metric, and residual) across two different cultural contexts: Spanish and Italian. The WSES was measured by 10 items assessing perceived work capability, while the SWSES was measured by 12 items assessing perceived capability to manage and cope with different situations in the search for a job. The sample included 658 young adults from Italy and Spain (20-26 years of age). Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis reveal that both configural and metric invariance can be assumed, suggesting that meaningful comparisons of the relations between latent factors and external variables can be made across Spain and Italy.