Kulizhnikov Kh.M., Zolotareva A.A. The Russian Adaptation of the Yoga Self-Efficacy Scale (YSES)

Amid growing public interest in yoga, researchers have increasingly focused on the construct of yoga self-efficacy – the individual’s confidence in their ability to successfully engage in yoga practice. In 2016, J. Birdee and colleagues developed the Yoga Self-Efficacy Scale (YSES), which has since been widely used in empirical and psychometric studies.

The present study aimed to adapt the YSES into Russian.

The sample comprised 186 yoga practitioners recruited from Telegram and VKontakte communities. In addition to the YSES, participants completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), which assesses the presence or absence of awareness, and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), which measures the physical and mental components of health-related quality of life.

Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a hierarchical structure of the adapted scale, supporting both a general yoga self-efficacy score and three specific subscales: “Working with the Body,” “Working with the Breath,” and “Working with the Mind.” Internal reliability was high for the total score (α = 0.906; ω = 0.909) and for all subscales: “Working with the Body” (α = 0.834; ω = 0.837), “Working with the Breath” (α = 0.878; ω = 0.881), and “Working with the Mind” (α = 0.843; ω = 0.848). Convergent validity was established through statistically significant positive associations between yoga self-efficacy and both mindfulness and health-related quality of life.

Thus, the Russian version of the Yoga Self-Efficacy Scale (YSES) demonstrates strong reliability and validity and can be recommended as a robust instrument for assessing individuals’ confidence in their ability to practice yoga effectively.

Key words: yoga, yoga self-efficacy, awareness, health-related quality of life, psychometric analysis

For citation: Kulizhnikov, Kh.M., Zolotareva, A.A. (2026). The Russian Adaptation of the Yoga Self-Efficacy Scale (YSES). New Psychological Research, No. 1 219–234. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2026_06_01_12

Acknowledgement

The publication was prepared within the framework of the Academic Fund Program at HSE University (grant № 25-00-033 “Development of psychosomatic research in Russia”).