Distress and help-seeking as a function of person-environment fit and self-efficacy: A causal model

Self-efficacy, indicators of distress (state anxiety and frequency of physical symptoms), help-seeking (visits to the campus health center, an outside physician, and a counselor), and two measures of person-environment (P-E) fit were assessed on 152 college students and examined in a LISREL model. The two P-E fit measures were perceived discrepancy, the profile difference score between how each student would like their residence floor and how each viewed it as being, and actual discrepancy, the profile difference score between how each would like the floor to be and the mean rating for how floor residents viewed the floor. It was found that self-efficacy and perceived discrepancy had independent and moderate effects on distress but not on help-seeking, whereas actual discrepancy was found to have a strong effect on help-seeking and no direct effect on distress. Help-seeking was found to have a strong negative effect on distress.