Financial anxiety, financial self-efficacy, and general social supports: Reliability of assessments

Background: Educational debt continues to increase across the health professions. Financial self-efficacy and generalized social supports are suggested as possible ways to mitigate the financial anxiety that results from high levels of debt. Assessment tools have not been evaluated for reliability among any group of health professions students. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of tools measuring financial anxiety, financial self-efficacy, and general social support in a graduate health profession student population. Methods: The Financial Anxiety Scale, Financial Self-Efficacy Scale, and General Social Support Scale was completed by 510 physical therapist students. Item response theory was used to assess reliability and item fit for each assessment. Results: The Financial Anxiety Scale, Financial Self-Efficacy Scale, and General Social Support Scale are reliable measures and demonstrate good item fit among the population of physical therapist students in the United States. Conclusions: Because the results of an item response theory analysis are not dependent on the population studied, the assessments may be reliable among other health professions students. The Financial Anxiety Scale and Financial Self-Efficacy Scale provide a large amount of test information for physical therapist students. The General Social Support Scale, by contrast, may be best utilized as a screening tool for those who have very low levels of general social supports.