Perceptions Of Personal Efficacy Research Articles

Preparing for wildfire evacuation and alternatives: Exploring influences on residents’ intended evacuation behaviors and mitigations

Understanding residents' intended evacuation behaviors is an increasingly important component of managing complex wildfire events in the United States and elsewhere. Growing evidence suggests that local populations consider a range of potential evacuation behaviors during fire events, yet fewer efforts explore rural residents' evacuation intentions or their relationship to wildfire mitigations that reduce risk or aid in fire suppression. This study explores evacuation intentions among wildland-urban interface residents in Pend Oreille County, Washington, USA. We explore how mitigation performance (e.g., fuel reduction efforts, structure improvements, active firefighting preparation) differs across three emergent categories of evacuation intentions and evaluate whether a range of factors correlate with participants’ evacuation intentions. Our results suggest that a relatively high proportion of residents in the study area intend to stay and defend their property from a wildfire, with smaller proportions intending to evacuate or shelter in place. Individuals who intend to stay and defend are more likely to implement fuel reduction and property mitigation strategies when compared to those intending to evacuate or shelter in place. We found that elements of residency status, sex, age, presence of children in the home, and perceptions of personal efficacy and whether the property was prepared enough to not need firefighting were significant influences on group affiliation. For instance, part-time residency was significantly correlated with intending to evacuate, while full-time residents were more likely to stay and defend. Greater agreement that firefighting was not needed because a property was well-prepared was significantly related to staying and defending over evacuating.

Confronting the wildlife trade through public education at zoological institutions in Chengdu, P.R. China

The wildlife trade poses substantial threats to global biodiversity. China is a significant source of threatened species and also a market for wildlife products. Zoological parks (zoos), which are a popular leisure attraction in China as elsewhere, are increasingly conceptualized as places to educate visitors about both animals and environmental threats more generally. This paper reports on an attempt to inform Chinese zoo visitors about the threats presented by the wildlife trade, and about the opportunity to take personal actions to help protect wildlife. Results from a baseline survey of attitudes among 524 adult visitors to animal exhibits in Chengdu, China showed a high degree of concern about wildlife paired with a lack of confidence about what could be done. A sense of connection to nature, along with a perception of personal efficacy, were the strongest predictors of concern about the wildlife trade. Based in part on these results, an informational exhibit was designed and implemented in two locations in Chengdu. A survey of 533 visitors to assess the impact of the new exhibit showed that connection and perceived efficacy continued to predict concern, and that talking about the exhibit was associated with increased knowledge and concern. Though causality cannot be definitively concluded, results suggest that zoos have the potential to influence attitudes and perceived norms regarding the wildlife trade. By affirming the importance of a feeling of connection, the findings indicate that animal facilities may have an important role in fostering the human relationship to the natural world.

‘Being responsible’: students’ perspectives on trust, risk and work-based learning

Taking on responsibilities associated with a professional role is an important aspect of experiential learning for undergraduate students on work-based placements. However, responsibility is a complex concept that is connected to issues of trust and risk in the placement context. This paper presents students’ perspectives that illustrate that being given and taking responsibility can be empowering; conversely, being denied responsibility is disempowering. Through an exploration of the students’ experiences, the relationship between responsibility, opportunity, risk and trust is explored. The paper points to a strong indication that the extent to which students are allowed responsibility in the workplace appears to have a fundamental impact on their perceptions of personal efficacy and professional development.

Program structure, staff perceptions, and client engagement in treatment

A key goal of drug abuse treatment providers is getting their clients to engage and participate in therapeutic activities as a first step toward deriving longer-term benefits. Much research had focused on personal characteristics that relate to client engagement; program characteristics have received less attention. This study explored client and program differences in engagement ratings using data from a nationwide set of 94 outpatient drug-free treatment programs in a hierarchical linear model analysis. The results show that elements of program context, including structural features (e.g., smaller size and Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations/Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities accreditation) and staff's perceptions of personal efficacy, organizational climate, and communal workplace practices, relate to better overall client engagement. These findings add further evidence that treatment providers should also address the workplace environment for staff as part of quality improvement efforts.

Helping Depressed Adolescents

Depression among adolescents has received recognition as a significant psychiatric problem that requires prompt intervention. This article will help primary care providers to understand the significance of adolescent depression, recognize its prevalence in primary care, cite the evidence supporting cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as a treatment for depressed adolescents, recognize the challenges of using CBT in primary care, and use 7 different CBT approaches with their patients. Psychiatric diagnoses may be present in 38% of adolescents who see a primary care physician, and among that number, depression is the most common diagnosis. Cognitive-behavioral therapy provides a scientifically proven tool for those physicians who want to provide their young depressed patients an effective counseling approach. Cognitive-behavioral therapy enhances self-control, perceptions of personal efficacy, rational problem-solving skills, social skills, and participation in activities and physical exercise that bring the adolescent a sense of pleasure or mastery. CBT has been proven to be effective when delivered by physicians who have received significant instructions. Unfortunately, CBT techniques can at first seem overly abstract, overwhelming in number, and difficult to teach in the 15-minute visit. However, CBT techniques can be made clear and accessible for a busy physician. The case of a depressed 14-year-old male high school student who comes to his physician for a pre-participation sports physical is presented to illustrate the application of CBT in primary care.

Características do inventário de raciocínio diagnóstico de Bordage, Grant e Marsden

O propósito do estudo foi analisar as características do Inventário de Raciocínio Diagnóstico (IRD) em conexão com percepções sobre aprendizado e desempenho dos aprendizes ao início da formação profissional. O inventário foi aplicado a 423 estudantes de medicina, de ambos os sexos, por amostragem consecutiva. Foram também obtidas medidas diversas de percepção do aprendizado e de rendimento cognitivo. Várias análises foram efetuadas para configurar a validade interna e externa, incluindo análises de confiabilidade e de correlação. Os resultados confirmaram a consistência interna e estabilidade temporal do instrumento. Foram apuradas correlações positivas e significantes do escore do IRD com indicadores objetivos mas, principalmente com medidas subjetivas de percepção do aprendizado. Em conclusão, os achados sugerem que o IRD reflete, além de conhecimento e habilidades específicas, a percepção de eficácia pessoal no processo diagnóstico, que pode ser influenciada por diferentes fatores do contexto do aprendizado e de atitudes do aprendiz.

Tai Chi Enhances Self-Efficacy and Exercise Behavior in Older Adults

The article describes a randomized, controlled trial conducted to examine the effects of a Tai Chi intervention program on perceptions of personal efficacy and exercise behavior in older adults. The sample comprised 94 low-active, healthy participants (mean age = 72.8 years. SD = 5.1) randomly assigned to either an experimental (Tai Chi) group or a wait-list control group. The study length was 6 months, with self-efficacy responses (barrier, performance efficacies) assessed at baseline, at Week 12, and at termination (Week 24) of the study. Exercise attendance was recorded as an outcome measure of exercise behavior. Random-effects models revealed that participants in the experimental group experienced significant improvements in self-efficacy over the course of the intervention. Subsequent repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that participants’ changes in efficacy were associated with higher levels of program attendance. The findings suggest that self-efficacy can be enhanced through Tai Chi and that the changes in self-efficacy are likely to improve exercise adherence.

The psychological impact of unemployment and joblessness

Economists have identified two principal adverse effects of unemployment. One is the output foregone that could have been produced if unemployed workers had been productively employed. The second is the psychological damage suffered by unemployed workers and their families. Psychologists have offered theories to explain how experiences such as Joblessness may lead to a deterioration in mental health. They also have designed and validated survey instruments capable of measuring various aspects of emotional health. Unfortunately, their efforts to document the psychological impact of unemployment have been plagued by data limitations, while economists largely have ignored this task. The purpose of this study is three-fold. First, we discuss why unemployment and Joblessness are likely to influence an individual's perception of personal efficacy, locus of control, and hence psychological well-being. Second, we discuss and critique existing efforts to examine the relationship between labor force experiences and locus of control. Third, we investigate the relationship between Joblessness and its component parts—unemployment and dropping out of the labor force—on personal locus of control, using observations from the NLSY and an alternative methodological framework. The NLSY is a longitudinal data set that contains detailed information on the personal characteristics of individuals in the sample, their labor force experiences and a specific personal locus of control. In discussing the results we also attempt to shed some new light on the debate between Clark and Summers (1979) and Flinn and Heckman (1982, 1983) over the question of whether being out of the labor force and being unemployed should be thought of as distinct states. We add further insight into this issue by examining whether there are psychological differences, as measured by locus of control, between otherwise comparable members of these two groups. Finally, we reconsider the Ellwood and Ruhm exchange over whether joblessness and unemployment lead to “psychological” scarring. We find that labor force experiences fail to influence personal locus of control for male youths. There is evidence, however, that perception of personal efficacy is altered by joblessness among young women. As the duration of a current unemployment spell lengthens, the likelihood of holding beliefs of personal efficacy decline for young women. There is also some evidence of scarring among women. For females who in the past have spent time both unemployed and out of the labor force, the greater the duration of their joblessness the more likely is a reduction in feelings of personal efficacy and more aggravated one's self-perception of helplessness. We also offer psychological evidence on the relative emotional well-being of the unemployed and labor force drop outs that largely supports the position of Clark and Summers that these conditions are largely indistinguishable.

General and Resource Class Teachers' Feelings of Personal Efficacy and Attitude towards Classroom Collaboration

The feelings of personal efficacy and attitude towards the newly advocated collaborative/supportive roles of resource personnel were investigated in a sample of general and resource teachers by means of a questionnaire. The variable of type of teacher was found to have significant effect on the perception of personal efficacy. Interaction effects between teacher type and special training were also found on feelings of personal efficacy and the total questionnaire score. Supplementary correlation results showed a slightly negative orientation of resource teachers towards the new supportive role functions. The new questionnaire items on efficacy of the present study were found to have high internal validity, but the ecological validity of the items on supportive roles would need further research. Suggestions for future research into other fundamental factors affecting collaboration are given.

Affective responses to acute exercise in elderly impaired males: the moderating effects of self-efficacy and age.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between perceptions of personal efficacy and affective responsibility to acute exercise in elderly male in-patients and outpatients at a Veterans Administration Medical Center. Participants completed self-efficacy measures prior to and following upper body ergometry exercise. Multidimensional affect was assessed prior to and following activity and in-task affect was assessed by retrospective recall. A significant change in feelings of fatigue was revealed over time but exercise effects on affect were shown to be moderated by perceptions of efficacy and age. Specifically, more efficacious individuals reported significantly more positive well-being and less psychological distress during and following exercise. Older individuals were less efficacious and experienced more negative responses to exercise. Finally, participants who experienced less psychological distress and more positive well-being during activity were more efficacious post-exercise. The results are discussed with respect to the role played by self-efficacy and age in the generation of affective responses to exercise.

Enhancing Exercise Adherence in Middle-Aged Males and Females

Background. Perceptions of personal efficacy have been consistently identified as being determinants of exercise adherence in asymptomatic, rehabilitative, younger, and older populations. The present study incorporated a randomized control design in an effort to examine the effects of an efficacy-based intervention in enhancing,exercise adherence in a large sample ( N = 114) of formerly sedentary middle-aged mates and females. Methods. Subjects randomly assigned to an exercise plus intervention group or an exercise plus attentional control group participated in a 5-month long walking program led by trained personnel. Exercise behavior (frequency, miles walked, duration) were assessed on a continuous basis and self-efficacy was measured at 1, 2, and 4 months. Results. Repeated measures multivariate analyses revealed a significant treatment effect with subjects in the intervention group exercising more frequently, for longer duration, and walking greater distances over the course of the program. Path analysis indicated that the effect of the treatment on adherence was direct rather than through self-efficacy as hypothesized. Self-efficacy was, however, a significant predictor of exercise behavior in the early and middle stages of the exercise program but not during the last month. Conclusions. An intervention program designed to maximize information pertaining to participants′ capabilities appears to have had a reasonable effect on reducing attrition in middle-aged males and females and self-efficacy was a significant predictor of exercise frequency over time. Further research efforts are required to tease out those cognitive factors that might underlie any effects of interventions in exercise adherence.

The role of efficacy cognitions in the prediction of exercise behavior in middle-aged adults.

The present study adopted a social cognitive framework to examine the role played by perceptions of personal efficacy in adherence to exercise behavior in sedentary middle-aged adults. Subjects were followed for 5 months in order to study the process of exercise as it moved through the adoption to maintenance stage of the behavior. Participation rates paralleled those reported elsewhere in the literature. Path analytic techniques examined the role over time of efficacy, perceptual, and behavioral indicators of frequency and intensity of exercise. Self-efficacy cognitions were shown to predict adoption of exercise behavior but previous behavior proved to be the strongest predictor of subsequent exercise participation. Results are discussed in terms of examining process versus static design models in exercise and physical activity research. Implications for future research and health promotion are suggested.

Effects of Acute and Long-Term Exercise on Self-Efficacy Responses in Sedentary, Middle-Aged Males and Females

We examined the effects of acute and long-term exercise on perceptions of personal efficacy in sedentary, middle-aged males and females. Both males and females demonstrated significant increases in efficacy following acute exercise. Females, who had demonstrated initially lower self-perceptions than males, made dramatic increases in efficacy during the exercise program, equaling or surpassing those of males. Exploratory analyses revealed significant relationships between self-efficacy and subsequent physiological responses to exercise.