The Roles of Stress Appraisal and Self-Efficacy in Fostering Resilience to Improve Psychosocial Outcomes Following Negative Life
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2013 The Roles of Stress Appraisal and Self-Efficacy inostering F Resilience to Improve Psychosocial Outcomes Following Negative Life Events Among College Students: A Multiple Mediation Analysis Jennifer Anne Cody University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the School Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Cody, Jennifer Anne, "The Roles of Stress Appraisal and Self-Efficacy inostering F Resilience to Improve Psychosocial Outcomes Following Negative Life Events Among College Students: A Multiple Mediation Analysis. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2013. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2409 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Jennifer Anne Cody entitled "The Roles of Stress Appraisal and Self-Efficacy inostering F Resilience to Improve Psychosocial Outcomes Following Negative Life Events Among College Students: A Multiple Mediation Analysis." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in School Psychology. Sherry K. Bain, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Christopher H. Skinner, Jeannine R. Studer, John W. Lounsbury Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) The Roles of Stress Appraisal and Self-Efficacy in Fostering Resilience to Improve Psychosocial Outcomes Following Negative Life Events Among College Students: A Multiple Mediation Analysis A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Jennifer Anne Cody August 2013 Copyright 2013 © by Jennifer Anne Cody All rights reserved ii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my wonderful husband Michael and our little princess Addisyn for all of your unconditional love, strength, and motivation. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13 iii Acknowledgements I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has helped throughout the process of this dissertation. First, I wish to thank my advisor and chair of my dissertation committee, Dr. Sherry Bain, for her guidance, support, and most of all patience throughout this process. I am grateful to the other members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Christopher Skinner, Dr. Jeannine Studer, and Dr. John Lounsbury, for all of their insight, comments, and feedback on this project. I am thankful to my friends and family for their encouragement along the way, especially my mother for her confidence in my abilities, my husband for his unconditional love and support, and my daughter for providing the motivation I needed to complete this project. iv Abstract The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the interrelationships between stress appraisal, self-efficacy, and psychosocial outcomes (i.e., resilience and self-concept) within the context of negative life events among college students. Participants (n = 220) were undergraduate students enrolled at a large southeastern university. Study participants completed the Life Experiences Survey (Sarason et al., 1978), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Sherer et al., 1982), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Connor & Davidson, 2003), the Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale (Fleming & Courtney, 1984), and the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983). Two hypothesized models of multiple mediation were proposed to explain the relationships between these variables. Model 1 examined the relationship between negative life change and resilience as mediated by stress appraisal and self-efficacy. Model 2 examined the mediating relationship between negative life change and self-concept through stress appraisal and self-efficacy. The path coefficients for the models were estimated through Ordinary Least Squares regression using the INDIRECT SPSS macro with bootstrapping procedures (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Significant indirect effects were found for stress appraisal and self-efficacy in both models. Results support a mediating relationship between negative life change and psychosocial outcomes through stress appraisal and self-efficacy. Future research recommendations and implications including potential interventions are discussed. Key words : Stress appraisal, self-efficacy, life events, resilience, self-concept, coping v Table of Contents Chapter 1........................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 1 Purpose of the Current Study............................................................................................. 2 Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Literature Review..................................................................................................................... 5 Life Events and Traumatization......................................................................................... 6 Stress Appraisal and Coping.............................................................................................. 8 Coping Competence.......................................................................................................... 10 Self-Efficacy and Coping Processes................................................................................. 12 Connecting Self-Efficacy to Psychosocial Functioning................................................... 14 Resilient Responding to Stressful Life Events................................................................. 16 Self-Concept, Competence, and Well-Being................................................................... 18 Summary of Purpose........................................................................................................ 19 Variables in the Current Study......................................................................................... 21 Research Questions and Hypotheses................................................................................ 21 Chapter 3...................................................................................................................................... 23 Method................................................................................................................................... 23 Participants...................................................................................................................... 23 Procedures........................................................................................................................ 23 Measures.......................................................................................................................... 24 Data Analysis................................................................................................................... 27 vi Chapter 4 ..................................................................................................................................... 29 Results.................................................................................................................................... 29 Descriptive Statistics........................................................................................................ 29 Bivariate Correlations...................................................................................................... 29 Multiple Mediation Analyses........................................................................................... 31 Chapter 5...................................................................................................................................... 34 Discussion and Conclusions................................................................................................... 34 Limitations of the Current Study.................................................................................... 36 Applied Implications of the Study.................................................................................... 36 Directions for Future Research......................................................................................... 39 Summary and Conclusions............................................................................................... 40 References.................................................................................................................................... 41 Appendices.................................................................................................................................. 57 Appendix A: Tables..............................................................................................................