Home Is Where the Smart Is: Development and Validation of the Cybersecurity Self-Efficacy in Smart Homes (CySESH) Scale

Abstract

The ubiquity of devices connected to the internet raises concerns about the security and privacy of smart homes. The effectiveness of interventions to support secure user behaviors is limited by a lack of validated instruments to measure relevant psychological constructs, such as self-efficacy – the belief that one is able to perform certain behaviors. We developed and validated the Cybersecurity Self-Efficacy in Smart Homes (CySESH) scale, a 12-item unidimensional measure of domain-specific self-efficacy beliefs, across five studies (𝑁 = 1247). Three pilot studies generated and refined an item pool. We report evidence from one initial and one major, preregistered validation study for (1) excellent reliability (𝛼 = 0.90), (2) convergent validity with self-efficacy in information security (𝑟SEIS = 0.64, 𝑝 < .001), and (3) discriminant validity with outcome expectations (𝑟OE = 0.26, 𝑝 < .001), self-esteem (𝑟RSE = 0.17, 𝑝 < .001), and optimism (𝑟LOT−R = 0.18, 𝑝 < .001). We discuss CySESH’s potential to advance future HCI research on cybersecurity, practitioner user assessments, and implications for consumer protection policy.