General Self-Efficacy Scale

The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) is a widely utilized 10-item measure designed to assess an individual's overarching belief in their ability to…

Questions: 10
Duration: 4 min
Original title: GSE — General Self-Efficacy Scale
Adaptation: General Self-Efficacy Scale
Authors: Schwarzer, R. & Jerusalem, M.
Created: 1995

The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) is a widely utilized 10-item measure designed to assess an individual's overarching belief in their ability to navigate adversity and exert control over their environment. Unlike domain-specific scales, the GSE captures a stable, global sense of personal competence. For clinicians, it serves as a reliable metric of resilience and adaptive coping across varied psychological stressors.

Measuring perceived self-efficacy helps clinicians understand how a patient approaches challenges, whether they lean toward active problem-solving or avoidance. As a repeatable measure, it provides a valuable baseline when exploring protective factors and tracking shifts in the patient’s confidence over the course of therapy.

Because the GSE isolates the individual's belief in their own agency, it becomes an essential tool for predicting treatment adherence and motivation. High scores typically correlate with better emotional regulation and persistence, while lower scores can highlight self-doubt that needs to be addressed early in the therapeutic process.

Example result

Fictitious result, computed from a sample set of answers.

Overall score

23/ 40

A 10-item self-report questionnaire assessing an individual's stable and general belief in their ability to cope with a wide range of difficult, novel, or stressful everyday situations. Developed by Schwarzer and Jerusalem based on Bandura's social cognitive theory, it measures a unidimensional construct of perceived self-efficacy. Usable from age 12, in both research and clinical practice, it is sensitive to the effects of psychotherapeutic interventions.

généralemixed · community sample · aggregated international sample (25 countries) · n = 19120 · 2002 · Scholz et al. (2002)

1040

M = 29.55 ± 5.32

généralemixed · community sample · French sample (standard deviation not published by country) · France · n = 144 · 2002 · Scholz et al. (2002)

1040

M = 32.19

généralemixed · community sample · American adults · United States · n = 1594 · 2014 · Schwarzer (2014)

1040

M = 29.48 ± 5.13

généralemixed · students · German high school students · 12–17 years · Germany · n = 3494 · 2014 · Schwarzer (2014)

1040

M = 29.6 ± 4

Scoring

Sum, total score from 10 to 40, each item is scored on a 4-point scale (from 1 to 4).

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What the test measures

The GSE quantifies a generalized expectation of personal efficacy, capturing how individuals perceive their own ability to manage novel or difficult situations.

Problem-solving confidence: The belief in one's capacity to resolve complex issues and stop overthinking when concrete action is required.
Resilience in adversity: The ability to remain emotionally grounded and recover quickly from unexpected setbacks.
Goal persistence: The internal drive to maintain focus and consistent effort when setting life goals and encountering obstacles.
Resourcefulness: The cognitive flexibility to generate multiple solutions and navigate decision-making at critical moments effectively.

This scale is intended for use with adults and adolescents (12 years and older) facing various life stressors, transitions, or clinical challenges.

When and why to use it

Clinicians deploy the GSE to gauge a patient's foundational coping resources and to tailor therapeutic interventions accordingly.

Intake baseline: To evaluate the patient's initial level of self-efficacy before introducing cognitive exercises aimed at developing a growth mindset.
Monitoring change: To track shifts in perceived competence over time, particularly when working collaboratively on six- and 12-month goals.
Evaluating distress tolerance: To assess how well the patient manages their comfort, stretch, and panic zones when facing unforeseen difficulties.
Tailoring support: To determine whether a patient requires more structured scaffolding or can benefit from more autonomous therapeutic challenges.

A validated GSE score provides an objective measure of coping confidence, adding a reliable, quantifiable dimension to the clinician's general impression of the patient's resilience.

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The questions

Please read each statement carefully and select the response that best describes you.
1. I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough.
Probes the patient's belief in their capacity to overcome hurdles through sustained effort.
- Not at all true
- Barely true
- Moderately true
- Exactly true
2. If someone opposes me, I can find the means and ways to get what I want.
Assesses interpersonal resilience and the ability to assert one's needs when faced with resistance.
- Not at all true
- Barely true
- Moderately true
- Exactly true
3. It is easy for me to stick to my aims and accomplish my goals.
Evaluates the patient's perceived consistency and focus in pursuing long-term objectives.
- Not at all true
- Barely true
- Moderately true
- Exactly true
4. I am confident that I can deal effectively with unexpected events.
Explores the individual's confidence in managing sudden, unpredicted life events.
- Not at all true
- Barely true
- Moderately true
- Exactly true
5. Thanks to my resourcefulness, I know how to handle unforeseen situations.
Captures the patient's sense of internal adaptability and resourcefulness in novel situations.
- Not at all true
- Barely true
- Moderately true
- Exactly true
6. I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort.
Measures the conviction that personal effort directly translates into successful problem resolution.
- Not at all true
- Barely true
- Moderately true
- Exactly true
7. I can remain calm when facing difficulties because I can rely on my coping abilities.
Gauges emotional regulation and the reliance on personal coping skills during crises.
- Not at all true
- Barely true
- Moderately true
- Exactly true
8. When I am confronted with a problem, I can usually find several solutions.
Assesses cognitive flexibility and the ability to generate alternative strategies when challenged.
- Not at all true
- Barely true
- Moderately true
- Exactly true
9. If I get stuck, I can usually think of something to do.
Probes the patient's capacity to brainstorm actionable solutions when feeling stuck or cornered.
- Not at all true
- Barely true
- Moderately true
- Exactly true
10. No matter what comes my way, I'm usually able to handle it.
Evaluates the overarching belief in one's general competence to navigate whatever life presents.
- Not at all true
- Barely true
- Moderately true
- Exactly true