Teachers' self-efficacy beliefs as determinants of job satisfaction and students' academic achievement: A study at the school level

Teachers' self-efficacy beliefs were examined as determinants of their job satisfaction and students' academic achievement. Over 2000 teachers in 75 Italian junior high schools were administered self-report questionnaires to assess self-efficacy beliefs and their job satisfaction Students' average final grades at the end of junior high school were collected in two subsequent scholastic years. Structural equation modeling analyses corroborated a conceptual model in which teachers' personal efficacy beliefs affected their job satisfaction and students' academic achievement, controlling for previous levels of achievement.     

社会自我效能感的结构、测量及其作用机制

班杜拉的自我效能理论一直是当代心理学的热点话题。作为社交情境中的特殊自我效能感,社会自我效能感是能够影响个人人际互动质量的重要心理因素之一,因此也逐渐开始受到研究者的关注。通过对国内外理论文章与实证研究的分析发现,社会自我效能感与社交自尊、社交果敢性、社交信心等相关概念有所不同,是指个体对自己社交能力的主观信念;其内涵在不同文化自我或情境的视角下可能存在差异,具有多元结构的可能性。社会自我效能感与个人特质、情绪、态度及行为等变量相关,并能够显著预测抑郁、社交焦虑、生活满意度、社会适应等变量。此外,社会自我效能感也在外向、性别角色、依恋、目标定向、网络人际交往的影响机制中起到中介作用,且能够对压力和不公平感所造成的消极影响具有一定的缓冲作用。然而有关研究仍存在诸多问题与不足,未来研究应该关注社会自我效能感内涵与结构的确定、测量工具的开发,并加强对其影响因素与影响效应的探索、系统模型的构建和跨文化研究的扩展。     

Social representations of health and illness: the case of the Chinese community in England

This paper reports results from a qualitative study on social representations of health and illness among the Chinese community in England. It is assumed that representations of health and illness are grounded in cultural frameworks and are constructed through communication, social interaction and the practices of daily life. Our findings show that in spite of differences related to age and degrees of acculturation, Chinese people in England share a common representational system with respect to health and illness. This system is based on the traditional notions of “balance” and “harmony” between the interdependent forces of Yin and Yang. Health results from balance, whereas illness is brought about by disequilibrium. It is through these traditional Chinese concepts that Western biomedical knowledge is incorporated, producing a mixed representational field where Chinese and Western knowledge co‐exist. This representational field is transmitted through the most fundamental dimensions of culture: food, language and kinship relations. We conclude by showing that social representations of health and illness are inseparable from the struggles over identity experienced by the Chinese people in England. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cognitions associated with initial medical consultations concerning recurrent breathing difficulties: A community-based study

Abstract

A two-stage community survey identified 568 respondents reporting recurrent breathing difficulties over a one-year period. Subsequent interviews allowed comparison of (i) 21 respondents who had never consulted a doctor about frequent wheezing (i.e., on more than 30 days) or serious breathing difficulties (i.e., disrupting everyday activities) over the past year with (ii) a randomly selected group of 22 who had seen their doctor concerning breathing difficulties in the past year. These groups were found to be similar with respect to demographic and lung function measures. An extended health belief model framework including causal attributions for breathing difficulties and consulting self-efficacy was used to explore cognitions which might distinguish between the two groups. Logistic regression suggested that lower perceived relative severity of symptoms (in relation to other problems). attribution of wheezing to smoking and lower self-efficacy in relation to explaining breathing difficulties to a doctor distinguished between those who did and did not consult. Health education implications. including initiatives to encourage medical help-seeking amongst those with recurrent, frequent or serious breathing difficulties are discussed.     

领悟社会支持、自我效能感对大学生家族主义与自尊的中介效应

该研究采用家族主义认识量表、领悟社会支持量表、自我效能感量表和自尊表对288名大学生被试进行研究,以揭示家族主义、领悟社会支持、自我效能感和自尊之间的关系。结果发现：家族主义与领悟社会支持、生活满意度、自尊之间存在显著正相关;通过回归分析发现,领悟社会支持与自我效能感对家族主义与自尊起到中介作用。     

The Relationship between Temperament and Life Satisfaction in Early Adolescence: Cognitive and Behavioral Mediation Models

This study investigated the interrelationships among temperament, social self-efficacy, social competence, and life satisfaction in a sample of 160 early adolescents. A model was proposed based on previous research by Argyle and Lu (1990, Personality and Individual Differences 11, pp. 1255–1261) in which social competence mediates the relationship between temperament (i.e. extraversion and neuroticism) and life satisfaction. However, this study extended the work of Argyle and Lu by including an objective measure of social competence, in addition to a measure of social self-efficacy, to test as a potential mediator between temperament and life satisfaction. Results indicated that social self-efficacy mediated the relationship between extraversion and life satisfaction, but not between neuroticism and life satisfaction. Teacher-rated social competence did not mediate the effects of temperament on life satisfaction. The importance of integrating theories of trait psychology and cognitive psychology in adolescent life satisfaction research is discussed.     

Personality Dysfunction and the Management of Chronic Medical Illness: A Community Health Sample

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of personality disorders on perceived health status, self-efficacy for management of the chronic illness, and physician perception of patient health. A total of 607 patients with self-identified chronicillness(es) volunteered to participate in the study. Out of this sample, 147 had collaborative physician data indicating a chronic illness. The final sample was 143 due to incomplete data. Results suggested that maladaptive personality characteristics, as measured by the Short-Form of the Coolidge Axis II Inventory (SCATI), were related to a number of important factors that influence self-management of chronic illnesses. When the personality constellations were broken into 3 groups (normal, subclinical, and clinical) significant differences were found on the 3 groups of dependent variables (Subjective Health, Self-Efficacy, Physician Appraisal) for the different personality disorders. These data provide useful information on several factors that influence effective disease management. Clinical implications and directions for future research are provided.     

Social-Cognitive Factors in Changing Health-Related Behaviors

Changing health-related behaviors requires two separate processes that involve motivation and volition, respectively. First, an intention to change is developed, in part on the basis of self-beliefs. Second, the change must be planned, initiated, and maintained, and relapses must be managed; self-regulation plays a critical role in these processes. Social-cognition models of health behavior change address these two processes. One such model, the health action process approach, is explicitly based on the assumption that two distinct phases need to be studied longitudinally, one phase that leads to a behavioral intention and another that leads to the actual behavior. Particular social-cognitive variables may play different roles in the two stages; perceived self-efficacy is the only predictor that seems to be equally important in the two phases.     

Towards the Good Life: A Population Survey of Dimensions of Quality of Life

The aim of the analyses presented here was to explore subjective and objective components and predictors of self-rated quality of life (QoL). The vehicle for the study was a questionnaire module on perceptions of quality of life, which was commissioned by the authors for inclusion in the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Omnibus Survey in Great Britain. For the survey, 2033 randomly sampled adults aged 16 and over were interviewed in their own homes (77% response rate). Multiple regression analyses showed that relatively little of the variance in overall QoL ratings was explained by the objective, socio-demographic indicators (5%), and the addition of the health status indicator (reported longstanding illness) contributed nothing. The subjective ratings of life in self-nominated areas of importance explained the most, with those who did not prioritise the area at all as the referent (relationships, finances, own health, others' health, work and social life). These variables contributed over twice as much as the objective and health status variables, indicating the relative importance of self-nominated 'important areas of life' over theoretically important, objective variables and reported illness. However, the final model still only explained a modest amount of the variance in quality of life ratings (16%), confirming the amorphous nature of quality of life.     

家庭累积风险与青少年心理健康的关系——心理资本的补偿效应和调节效应

对1473名初、高中生进行问卷调查,考察家庭累积风险与青少年心理健康的关系以及心理资本的补偿效应和调节效应。结果发现：（1）家庭累积风险负向预测生活满意度,正向预测焦虑/抑郁;（2）心理资本正向预测生活满意度,负向预测焦虑/抑郁;（3）心理资本只能调节家庭累积风险与焦虑/抑郁的关系,表现为心理资本缓冲家庭累积风险对青少年焦虑/抑郁的不利影响。因此,改善家庭环境和培养心理资本是提升青少年心理健康的重要途径,需注意心理资本的培育对焦虑/抑郁和生活满意度作用的差异。     

Assessing the relationship of Type A beliefs to cardiovascular disease risk and psychosocial distress

Investigators have begun to take a multimodal approach to the assessment and treatment of psychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). For instance, cognitive responses have become the focus of contemporary research along with continued examination of overt Type A behaviors. Price (1982) has outlined a set of beliefs purportedly associated with Type A behavior and subsequent CVD risk. The current study examines the validity of this belief set as represented by a newly developed measure, the Type A Cognitive Questionnaire (TACQ). Subjects were 221 employed adults participating in a worksite CVD risk reduction program. They completed the TACQ as part of a pretreatment CVD risk screening protocol. As hypothesized, TACQ scores were significantly associated with Type A behavior, hostility, physiological mediators of CVD, and psychosocial distress. Discussion addresses continued refinement of the Type A belief construct.     

Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism as Mediators of Adult Attachment Styles and Depression,Hopelessness, and Life Satisfaction

This study examined the relationships between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, anxious and avoidant adult attachment styles, depression, hopelessness, and life satisfaction among a sample of 180 undergraduate students. Maladaptive perfectionism mediated the relationship between both forms of adult attachment and depression, hopelessness, and life satisfaction. Adaptive perfectionism mediated the relationship between avoidant adult attachment and hopelessness and life satisfaction. Implications for counselors and future research directions are discussed.