Patient’s Communication Perceived Self-efficacy Scale (PCSS): construction and validation of a new measure in a socio-cognitive perspective

The study is aimed at developing and providing validation of Patient’s Communication Perceived Self-efficacy Scale to measure patients’ beliefs as regards the ability to successfully master situations related to communication with doctor. Patients were contacted, who had just concluded an interview with a specialist. The responses of the subjects were evaluated with explorative and confirmatory factor analysis. The scale is composed by 16 items, has a three-dimensional structure and shows good psychometric properties. The results emphasize the potential of the scale in evaluating patients’ communication self-efficacy perceptions. It can be applied optimally in the empirical study of factors influencing communication doctor-patient and used in training aiming at strengthening patients’ communication skills.