Adaptation and Validation of the Chinese Version of the Digital Self-Efficacy Scale in Chinese First-Year College Students: A Bifactor-ESEM Approach

As digital technology becomes increasingly embedded in higher education, assessing students’ confidence in digital tasks is essential for understanding their adaptation to digital learning environments. This study adapted the Digital Self-Efficacy Scale (DSES) into Chinese and evaluated its psychometric properties among 1502 first-year college students in China. Participants were randomly split into two subsamples for item analysis and exploratory factor analysis, and structural validation respectively. All 25 items demonstrated satisfactory discrimination and homogeneity. Although parallel analysis indicated a four-factor exploratory solution, seven competing models were compared in the confirmatory stage. The Bifactor-ESEM model yielded the best combination of statistical fit and substantive interpretability, suggesting that the Chinese DSES primarily captures an overarching digital self-efficacy dimension, with domain-specific factors retaining limited reliable variance beyond the general factor. Total scores were positively associated with digital maturity (r = 0.642, p < 0.001); however, external validity is limited given that both measures were self-reported and concurrently collected. Gender measurement invariance analyses supported configural, metric, and scalar invariance. Overall, the Chinese DSES demonstrates promising preliminary psychometric properties. The total score is recommended as the primary interpretive unit, with subscale scores used as supplementary descriptive information only.