Relationships between self-efficacy and symptoms of anxiety disorders and depression in a normal adolescent sample

The present study examined relationships between self-efficacy and symptoms of affective disorders in a large sample of normal adolescents (n=596). Participants completed the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children and scales measuring trait anxiety/neuroticism, and symptoms of anxiety disorders and depression. Results showed that low levels of self-efficacy generally were accompanied by high levels of trait anxiety/neuroticism, anxiety disorders symptoms, and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, some support was found for the notion that specific domains of self-efficacy are especially associated with particular types of anxiety problems. That is, social self-efficacy was most strongly connected to social phobia, academic self-efficacy to school phobia, and emotional self-efficacy to generalised anxiety and panic/somatic. Finally, when controlling for trait anxiety/neuroticism, self-efficacy still accounted for a small but significant proportion of the variance of symptoms of anxiety disorders and depression. The role of self-efficacy in the aetiology and maintenance of childhood affective disorders and directions for future research are briefly discussed.