Ralf Schwarzer

Self-Efficacy : Thought Control Of Action

Part 1: self-efficacy and human functioning exercise of personal agency through the self-efficacy mechanism two dimensions of perceived self- efficacy - cognitive control and behavioural coping ability. Part 2: self- Efficacy And Human Development Perceived Control - Motivation, Coping and development personal control over development - implications of self- Efficacy. Part 3: Self-Efficacy, Stress And Emotions Perceived Self- efficacy and phobic disability self-efficacy and depression. Part 4: self-efficacy and health behaviours self-efficacy in the adoption and maintenance of health behaviours - theoretical approaches and a new model self-efficacy and attribution theory in health education. Part 5: self-efficacy, physical symptoms, and rehabilitation of chronic disease the role of self-efficacy in recovery from heart attack self-efficacy mechanism in psychobiologic functioning.

Is General Self-Efficacy a Universal Construct?1

Summary Perceived self-efficacy represents an optimistic sense of personal competence that seems to be a pervasive phenomenon accounting for motivation and accomplishments in human beings. The General Self-Efficacy scale, developed to measure this construct at the broadest level, has been adapted to many languages. The psychometric properties of this instrument is examined among 19,120 participants from 25 countries. The main research question is whether the measure is configurally equivalent across cultures, that is, whether it corresponds to only one dimension. The findings confirm this assumption and suggest the globality of the underlying construct. They also point to a number of cross-cultural differences that merit further investigation.

Bridging the intention–behaviour gap: Planning, self-efficacy, and action control in the adoption and maintenance of physical exercise

Although some people may develop an intention to change their health behaviour, they might not take any action. This discrepancy has been labelled the “intention–behaviour gap.” Detailed action planning, perceived self-efficacy, and self-regulatory strategies (action control) may mediate between intentions and behaviour. This was examined in a longitudinal sample of 307 cardiac rehabilitation patients who were encouraged to adopt or maintain regular exercise. At the first time point, the predictors of intention and intention itself were assessed. Two months and four months later, the mediators and outcomes were measured. Results confirmed that all the three factors (planning, maintenance self-efficacy, and action control) served to mediate between earlier exercise intentions and later physical activity, each of them making a unique contribution. The results have implications for research on the “intention–behaviour gap,” and indicate that planning, maintenance self-efficacy and action control may be important volitional variables.

The General Self-Efficacy Scale: Multicultural Validation Studies

General self-efficacy is the belief in ones competence to cope with a broad range of stressful or challenging demands, whereas specific self-efficacy is constrained to a particular task at hand. Relations between general self-efficacy and social cognitive variables (intention, implementation intentions, outcome expectancies, and self-regulation), behavior-specific self-efficacy, health behaviors, well-being, and coping strategies were examined among 1,933 respondents in 3 countries: Germany (n = 633), Poland (n = 359), and South Korea (n = 941). Participants were between 16 and 86 years old, and some were dealing with stressful situations such as recovery from myocardial events or tumor surgery. Perceived self-efficacy was measured by means of the General Self-Efficacy Scale (R. Schwarzer & M. Jerusalem, 1995). Meta-analysis was used to determine population effect sizes for four sets of variables. Across countries and samples, there is consistent evidence for associations between perceived self-efficacy and the variables under study confirming the validity of the psychometric scale. General self-efficacy appears to be a universal construct that yields meaningful relations with other psychological constructs.

General self‐efficacy in various domains of human functioning: Evidence from five countries

Based on social-cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997), this paper examined whether perceived self-efficacy is a universal psychological construct that accounts for variance within various domains of human functioning. Perceived self-efficacy is not only of a task-specific nature, but it can also be identified at a more general level of functioning. General self-efficacy (GSE) is the belief in one’s competence to tackle novel tasks and to cope with adversity in a broad range of stressful or challenging encounters, as opposed to specific self-efficacy, which is constrained to a particular task at hand. The study aimed at exploring the relations between GSE and a variety of other psychological constructs across several countries. Relations between general self-efficacy and personality, well-being, stress appraisals, social relations, and achievements were examined among 8796 participants from Costa Rica, Germany, Poland, Turkey, and the USA. Across countries, the findings provide evidence for associations between perceived general self-efficacy and the selected variables. The highest positive associations were with optimism, self-regulation, and self-esteem, whereas the highest negative associations emerged with depression and anxiety. Academic performance is also associated with self-efficacy as hypothesized. The replication across languages or cultures adds significance to these findings. The relations between self-efficacy and other personality measures remained stable across cultures and samples. Thus, perceived general self-efficacy appears to be a universal construct that yields meaningful relations with other psychological constructs.

Social-Cognitive Predictors of Health Behavior : Action Self-Efficacy and Coping Self-Efficacy

The effects of social-cognitive variables on preventive nutrition and behavioral intentions were studied in 580 adults at 2 points in time. The authors hypothesized that optimistic self-beliefs operate in 2 phases and made a distinction between action self-efficacy (preintention) and coping self-efficacy (postintention). Risk perceptions, outcome expectancies, and action self-efficacy were specified as predictors of the intention at Wave 1. Behavioral intention and coping self-efficacy served as mediators linking the 3 predictors with low-fat and high-fiber dietary intake 6 months later at Wave 2. Covariance structure analysis yielded a good model fit for the total sample and 6 subsamples created by a median split of 3 moderators: gender, age, and body weight. Parameter estimates differed between samples; the importance of perceived self-efficacy increased with age and weight.

Social Support and Health: A Theoretical and Empirical Overview

It is generally assumed that social support has a favorable impact on the maintenance of health and on coping with illness. However, results are inconsistent and even conflicting. This is partly due to conceptual and methodological shortcomings. In order to overcome these problems and to guide further research, we present a taxonomy of social relationships and a causal process model. Social integration, cognitive social support and behavioral social support are distinguished and related to personality, stress, coping and the pathogenic process. In the causal model we propose that social support is depicted both as mediating the effects of stress on illness as well as directly affecting illness. A meta analysis was conducted that related social support and social integration to morbidity and mortality based on eighty empirical studies, including more than 60,000 subjects. Data subsets revealed disparate patterns of results that give rise to intriguing theoretical questions. Evidently, social support operates in complex ways. Several causal models are specified which represent alternative pathways of social support processes. Where social support was associated with less illness, a direct effect model was proposed. In cases where more support was seemingly paradoxically associated with illness it is assumed that a mobilization of support has taken place. In conclusion, some recent research examples that help illustrate future directions untangling the social support-illness relationship are presented.

Action plans and coping plans for physical exercise : A longitudinal intervention study in cardiac rehabilitation

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study was to test two brief planning interventions designed to encourage cardiac patients to engage in regular physical exercise following discharge from rehabilitation. The interventions comprised action plans on (a) when, where, and how to act, and (b) coping plans on how to deal with anticipated barriers. DESIGN AND METHOD An experimental longitudinal trial was conducted to test two interventions that either focused on action planning alone, or on a combination of action planning and coping planning. A total of 211 participants completed assessments at baseline and 2 months after discharge. Participants were randomly assigned to either one of the intervention groups or a standard-care control group. RESULTS Participants in the combined planning group did significantly more physical exercise 2 months post-discharge than those in the other groups. CONCLUSIONS The theoretical distinction between action planning and coping planning as introduced in the present study has proven useful in explaining changes in health-related behaviour. The combined planning intervention can be applied in the context of cardiac rehabilitation programmes.

Optimism, Vulnerability, and self-beliefs as health-related cognitions: A systematic overview

Abstract This paper disentangles a number of closely related cognitions by dividing them into the categories of defensive and functional optimism. Optimistic biases in risk perception are discussed that may represent barriers in the adoption of preventive health behaviors. Instead of defensive optimism, some sense of vulnerability is seen as indispensable for behavioral change operating jointly with beliefs about positive health outcomes, instrumental actions, and appropriate coping resources. A distinction is made between three kinds of functional optimism that depend either on attributional style, outcome expectancies, or personal agency. Findings are presented that corroborate the strength of these constructs in predicting health outcomes. In terms of health behavior change, it is argued that optimistic self-beliefs are the most beneficial because of their operative power that helps to set goals, initiate actions, and maintain motivation.

Predicting teacher burnout over time: Effects of work stress, social support, and self-doubts on burnout and its consequences

This longitudinal study examined antecedents and consequences of psychological burnout among 362 teachers and school administrators. Antecedents included red tape, disruptive students and lack of supervisor support. Consequences of burnout included heart symptoms and depressive mood. Respondents completed questionnaires sent to them at their schools at two points in time, one year apart. LISREL analyses indicated that the predictors had significant relationships with burnout levels one year later, and that burnout served as a mediator between the predictors and emotional and physical health outcomes.