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Self-Efficacy in Infant Care Scale (SICS)

Self-Efficacy in Infant Care Scale (SICS) is a 40-item measure to assess mothers’ judgments of their ability in infant care during the first year of life. This scale contains 4 subscales: 1) Development promotion, 2) General health care, 3) Safety and 4) Diet.

Categories

Geographies Tested: Thailand

Populations Included: Female

Age Range: Adolescents, Adults

Items:

I am confident that I am able to:

Development promotion
1. Tell what my baby at this age can do
2. Provide music toys or sing a song to my baby
3. Play with my baby ever day though I am very busy
4. Teach my baby the name of a person, animals, and objects
5. Allow my baby to feed herself/himself though this causes a mess
6. Teach my baby how to play by playing with her/him
7. Allow my baby to do what she/he is trying to do before offering help
8. Tell what my baby's different cries mean
9. Get my baby to smile or laugh
10. Tell what my baby likes or dislikes
11. Show affection to my baby every day and several times a day
12. Read my baby's gesture of what sh/he wants or needs
13. Speak to and make eye-to-eye contact with my baby during breast or bottle-feeding
14. Get my baby distracted from what s/he occupied

General health care
15. Give mouth care to my baby every day
16. Use a suction bulb correctly when my baby has phlegm
17. Give my baby medication without choking her/him
18. Use a thermometer correctly when taking my baby's temperature
19. Prevent my baby from getting diaper rash
20. Decide when I should give my baby a tepid sponge when she/he has a fever
21. Relieve gas pain in my baby
22. Tell the difference between vomiting and milk spitting
23. Tell whether my baby's bowel movements are normal
24. Give proper care when my baby gets mild diarrhea
25. Decide whether my baby with diarrhea should see a doctor
26.Give proper care when my baby has a seizure
27. Give proper care to prevent suffocation when my baby is vomiting

Safety
28. Protect my baby from cigarette smoke
29. Protect my baby from getting close to a person with a cold
30. Gently refuse my baby when she/he insists on playing with a harmful toy or staying in a dangerous place
31. Make the home environment safe for my baby
32. Provide safe toys for my baby

Diet
33. Select a formula that is appropriate for my baby's age.
34. Clean utensils (e.g. bottle, pacifier) correctly
35. Manage a regular meal for my baby when she/he is 6 months old
36. Manage three regular meals for my baby when she/he is 12 months old
37. Provide solid food that is appropriate for my baby's age
38. Let my baby have breast milk on schedule even I am not at home or at a place of work
39. Hold my baby every time she/he is breast or bottle-fed
40. Always burp my baby after breast or bottle-feeding

Response Options:
100-point scale
Definitely cannot do - 0
Definitely can do - 100

Scoring Procedures

The mean of all 40 items is computed for the total scale score.

Original Citation

Prasopkittikun, T., Tilokskulchai, F., Sinsuksai, N., & Sitthimongkol, Y. (2006). Self-Efficacy in Infant Care Scale: Development and psychometric testing. Nursing & Health Sciences, 8(1), 44-50. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-2018.2004.00266.x


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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