Measuring participation in people living with multiple sclerosis: A comparison of self-reported frequency, importance and self-efficacy

Purpose.To compare three dimensions related to participation in everyday situations in community-dwelling adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods.Mail survey was obtained from 112 respondents. Data were analyzed using Kendall's tau-b correlation coefficients between responses to participation items relative to three question dimensions (importance, frequency, and self-efficacy) and criterion variables (mobility, depression, general health, fatigue and pain). Results.No significant associations were found between item responses in the importance dimension and the criterion variables. Weak associations were found for items in the frequency dimension, and stronger associations were found for items in the self-efficacy dimension. Conclusions.Different dimensions of participation in specific life situations yielded different responses and associations of those responses with key criterion measures. Subjective importance of participating in everyday situations is relatively independent of measures of mobility, general health, depression, fatigue and pain. Subjective judgments of self-efficacy for participation are more closely linked to these criterion measures. Caution is warranted when interpreting scales of participation because participation is a complex construct, potentially composed of several dimensions.