Reducing psychological distress and improving students well-being and academic self-efficacy: the effectiveness of a cognitive university counselling service for clinical and non-clinical situations

Author(s):  
Marco Bani ◽  
Federico Zorzi ◽  
Deborah Corrias ◽  
Mariagrazia Strepparava
Author(s):  
T. Hailikari ◽  
N. Katajavuori ◽  
H. Asikainen

AbstractProcrastination is consistently viewed as problematic to academic success and students’ general well-being. There are prevailing questions regarding the underlying and maintaining mechanisms of procrastination which are yet to be learnt. The aim of the present study was to combine different ways to explain procrastination and explore how students’ time and effort management skills, psychological flexibility and academic self-efficacy are connected to procrastination as they have been commonly addressed separately in previous studies. The data were collected from 135 students who participated in a voluntary time management and well-being course in autumn 2019. The results showed that students’ ability to organize their time and effort has the strongest association with procrastination out of the variables included in the study. Psychological flexibility also has a strong individual role in explaining procrastination along with time and effort management skills. Surprisingly, academic self-efficacy did not have a direct association with procrastination. Interestingly, our findings further suggest that time and effort management and psychological flexibility are closely related and appear to go hand in hand and, thus, both need to be considered when the aim is to reduce procrastination. The implications of the findings are further discussed.


Author(s):  
Ina Reić Ercegovac ◽  
Toni Maglica ◽  
Maja Ljubetić

This study aimed to explore the relationship between self-esteem, self-efficacy, family and life satisfaction, loneliness and academic achievement during adolescence. A total of 180 male and 301 female adolescents aged 10 to 17 (M=12.45 years, SD=2.66), from two primary and two secondary schools from the city of Split, participated in the study. To achieve the research goal, we administered the general data questionnaire, Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (Vulić Prtorić Sorić, 2006), Family Satisfaction Scale (Vulić Prtorić, 2004), the short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, 1996), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). The results indicated that female adolescents performed better in Croatian than male adolescents, who in turn assessed themselves as being more emotionally efficient than female adolescents. Regarding age, preadolescents were more satisfied, performed better academically, and exhibited higher levels of academic self-efficacy and self-esteem than older adolescents. The results of the regression analysis showed that higher academic self-efficacy and lower emotional self-efficacy were the strongest predictors of academic achievement. Research findings suggest that higher self-esteem and self-efficacy beliefs in all domains could have a protective role in well-being of adolescents and, finally, they point to the importance of developing high self-efficacy beliefs, especially academic ones, for academic achievement.Key words: academic achievement; adolescence; self-concept; satisfaction, loneliness---Ovim istraživanjem nastojalo se ispitati odnos između samopoštovanja, samoučinkovitosti, zadovoljstva s obitelji i životom, usamljenosti i akademskoga postignuća tijekom adolescencije. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo ukupno 180 adolescenata i 301 adolescentica u dobi od 10 do 17 godina (M = 12,45 godina, SD = 2,66), iz dvije osnovne i dvije srednje škole iz Splita. Kako bismo ostvarili cilj istraživanja, koristili smo sljedeće instrumente: Upitnik općih podataka, Upitnik samoučinkovitosti djece i adolescenata (Vulić Prtorić i Sorić, 2006), Skalu obiteljskoga zadovoljstva (Vulić Prtorić, 2004), kratki oblik Skale usamljenosti Sveučilišta u Kaliforniji (UCLA) (Russell, 1996) i Opću skalu samopoštovanja (Rosenberg, 1965). Rezultati pokazuju da su adolescentice bolje u Hrvatskom jeziku od adolescenata, koji su procijenili da su emocionalno učinkovitiji od ženskih adolescenata. S obzirom na dob, predadolescenti bili su zadovoljniji, imali bolju akademsku izvedbu i pokazivali više razine akademske samoučinkovitosti nego stariji adolescenti. Rezultati regresijske analize naglasili su višu akademsku samoučinkovitost i nižu emocionalnu samoučinkovitost kao najsnažnije prediktore akademskoga postignuća. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da više samopoštovanje i viša uvjerenja u samoučinkovitost u svim domenama mogu očuvati dobrobit adolescenata. Osim toga, rezultati ukazuju na važnost razvijanja snažnih uvjerenja u samoučinkovitost, posebno akademsku, za akademsko postignuće.Ključne riječi: adolescencija; akademsko postignuće; samopoimanje; usamljenost; zadovoljstvo


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Vera Woloshyn ◽  
Michael J. Savage ◽  
Tanya Kaefer ◽  
Dragana Martinovic ◽  
Snezana Ratkovic

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine professors’ and Master of Education (MEd) students’ well-being, support, academic self-efficacy and mentorship in Canada and Croatia. Overall, 118 professors and 98 MEd students from three universities in Canada and three universities in Croatia completed the online surveys in English and Croatian, respectively. The frameworks of self-determination theory and relational cultural theory informed interpretation of our findings. Results suggest that for professors in both countries, personal support, professional support and academic self-efficacy predict professional well-being. Only personal support predicts personal well-being in Canadian professors, while personal support and academic self-efficacy predicts personal well-being in Croatia. Personal and professional support was also associated with positive mentorship practices in Canada. Students in both countries, who felt supported professionally and personally, reported greater professional and personal well-being respectively. Self-efficacy may make a difference for Croatian students but seemed to have little unique impact on Canadian students. Studying part-time in Canada was associated with higher personal and professional well-being but was associated with lower personal well-being in Croatia. Mentorship practices seemed to have little effect on well-being in either country. Overall, professors reported higher well-being and support than M.Ed. students. We conclude with recommendations that would be informative for university administrators, graduate programs, and services interested in the well-being of professors and graduate students.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego García-Álvarez ◽  
Juan Hernández-Lalinde ◽  
Rubia Cobo-Rendón

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational centers and universities in Venezuela have closed their physical plants and are migrating to emergency remote education to continue with academic programs. This empirical study aimed to analyze the predictive capacity of academic self-efficacy and emotional intelligence skills on each of the dimensions of psychological well-being. We employed a cross-sectional predictive design. The sample comprised 277 university students, of which 252 were female (91.00%). Their ages ranged from 18 to 45 years, with a mean of 20.35 (SD = 2.29). Non-probabilistic chance sampling was used. For data collection, we used an anonymous online form, contacted students by mail, and invited them to participate in the study. Questionnaires were available between 217 and 227 days of decreed quarantine in Venezuela. The results indicated average levels of academic self-efficacy (Me = 4; IQR = 2), emotional intelligence: clarity (Me = 27; IQR = 10), attention (Me = 25; IQR = 10) y repair (Me = 25; IQR = 12), and psychological well-being (Me = 35; IQR = 5). We found differences according to sex and age, specifically in emotional regulation (z = 3.73, p < 0.001, d = 0.438) and in bonds of psychological well-being (z = 2.51, p = 0.012, d = 0.276) favoring men (Me = 33, IQR = 9; Me = 8, IQR = 1), respectively. Regarding age, statistically significant differences were found in the group of students older than 21 years with higher perception of psychological well-being (z = 3.69, p < 0.001, d = 0.43) and in each of its dimensions. Emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy were found to be significant predictors of psychological well-being and its dimensions, specifically on control (R2-Cox = 0.25, R2-Nagelkerke = 0.34, 69.90% of total correct classification), links (R2-Cox = 0.09, R2-Nagelkerke = 0.12, 65.07% of total correct classification), projects (R2-Cox = 0.32, R2-Nagelkerke = 0.46, 78.40% of total correct classification), acceptance (R2-Cox = 0.17, R2-Nagelkerke = 0.23, 68.28% of total correct classification), and total well-being (R2-Cox = 0.52, R2-Nagelkerke = 0.71, 87.16% of total correct classification). It was concluded that emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy are protective psychological resources of psychological well-being that should be promoted at university to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on the mental health of young people.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Nan Li

In order to explore the specific influence mechanism of professional commitment on subjective Well-being, this paper makes a research questionnaire based on professional commitment scale, subjective Well-being scale, academic Self-efficacy scale and social support scale, and surveys 356 college students nationwide. The obtained data are analyzed empirically using SPSS22.0 and Amos22.0. The results show that: (1) Professional commitment and academic Self-efficacy can positively predict subjective Well-being; (2) Academic Self-efficacy has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between professional commitment and subjective Well-being; (3) The moderating effect of social support occurs in the direct path of professional commitment’s influence on subjective Well-being and the indirect path of professional commitment’s influence on academic Self-efficacy. By constructing a moderated mediation model, this study reveals the mechanism of professional commitment on subjective Well-being, and provides reference for analyzing, predicting, shaping and correcting college students’ cognition and behavior, as well as helping to solve their psychological problems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanhui Mao ◽  
Rui Yang ◽  
Marino Bonaiuto ◽  
Jianhong Ma ◽  
László Harmat

A growing number of studies suggest that flow experience is associated with life satisfaction, eudaimonic well-being, and the perceived strength of one’s social and place identity. However, little research has placed emphasis on flow and its relations with negative experiences such as anxiety. The current study investigated the relations between flow and anxiety by considering the roles of self-esteem and academic self-efficacy. The study sample included 590 Chinese university students, who were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire on flow, anxiety, self-esteem, and academic self-efficacy. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS software, in which both factorial analysis and path analysis were performed. Results revealed that the experience of flow negatively predicted anxiety, and both self-esteem and academic self-efficacy fully mediated the path between flow and anxiety. Specifically, self-esteem played a crucial and complete mediating role in this relationship, while academic self-efficacy mediated the path between self-esteem and anxiety. Our findings enrich the literature on flow experience and help with identifying practical considerations for buffering anxiety and more broadly with fostering strategies for promoting psychological sustainability and resilience.


Mood Prep 101 ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 67-78
Author(s):  
Carol Landau

This chapter discusses the role of self-efficacy and confidence as foundations for student success and well-being. Based on the work of Albert Bandura and social learning theory, the goal is for individuals to feel that they are able to identify and solve problems on their own. Low self-efficacy can lead to depression because a lack of control causes disappointment and pessimism. Academic self-efficacy is identified as one of the factors that is necessary for a positive college experience. A case of a student with limited social self-efficacy is examined, with suggestions of how parents can help, including how to give accurate and optimistic feedback based on strengths and weaknesses. There is also a section on how bias and stereotyping undercut the feeling of self-efficacy and how parents can encourage their teens to push back and not internalize these prejudices.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Ronconi ◽  
Noemi Giannerini ◽  
Ines Testoni ◽  
Maria Zulian ◽  
Maria Silvia Guglielmin

Abstract Introduction: The passage from adolescence to young adulthood introduces many challenges and chances aimed at promoting independence, financial self-sufficiency, assumption of responsibilities and separation from parents. Literature shows that in the continuum between these two phases of life, many factors intervene, producing significant differentiations. Methods: This study considered three dimensions - well-being, measured through the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM); spontaneity, measured through the Spontaneity Assessment Inventory-Revised (SAI-R); and self-efficacy, measured through the General Self-Efficacy scale (GSE). The study involved two groups of Italian participants: 495 adolescents, aged between 13 and 19 years, selected at a high school; and 368 young adults, aged between 18 and 30 years, recruited by snowball sampling. Results: Results of confirmatory factor analysis for each instrument in each group indicate the validity of the three instruments for both age groups. No significant differences were found between adolescents and young adults on total or subtotal scores of the CORE-OM, except for the risk factor. Conversely, the mean scores obtained with SAI-R and GSE were very different between adolescents and young adults. Conclusions: The results of path analysis show a significant mediation of spontaneity in the link between self-efficacy and all specific psychological distress domains for adolescents. Instead, there is a significant mediation of spontaneity between self-efficacy and all specific psychological distress domains except the risk domain for young adults.


Arthritis ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Van Liew ◽  
Maya S. Santoro ◽  
Arielle K. Chalfant ◽  
Soujanya Gade ◽  
Danielle L. Casteel ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose. The purpose of the present study was to examine the interrelationships among physical dysfunction, self-efficacy, psychological distress, exercise, and quality of well-being for people with osteoarthritis. It was predicted that exercise would mediate the relationships between physical dysfunction, self-efficacy, psychological distress, and quality of well-being. Methods. Participants were 363 individuals with osteoarthritis who were 60 years of age or older. Data were collected from the baseline assessment period prior to participating in a social support and education intervention. A series of structural equation models was used to test the predicted relationships among the variables. Results. Exercise did not predict quality of well-being and was not related to self-efficacy or psychological distress; it was significantly related to physical dysfunction. When exercise was removed from the model, quality of life was significantly related to self-efficacy, physical dysfunction, and psychological distress. Conclusions. Engagement in exercise was directly related to physical functioning, but none of the other latent variables. Alternatively, treatment focused on self-efficacy and psychological distress might be the most effective way to improve quality of well-being.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document