Academic self-efficacy as a protective factor for the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic
Background: University students are vulnerable to developing mental health problems due to constant exposure to academic demands. A situation that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and observed in several recent studies. Therefore, current practices require further research and identific...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Instituto Peruano de Orientación Psicológica – IPOPS
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Interacciones |
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.revistainteracciones.com/index.php/rin/article/view/289 |
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| author | Nayeli Lucía Ampuero-Tello Angel Christopher Zegarra-López Dharma Ariana Padilla-López Dafne Silvana Venturo-Pimentel |
| author_facet | Nayeli Lucía Ampuero-Tello Angel Christopher Zegarra-López Dharma Ariana Padilla-López Dafne Silvana Venturo-Pimentel |
| author_sort | Nayeli Lucía Ampuero-Tello |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: University students are vulnerable to developing mental health problems due to constant exposure to academic demands. A situation that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and observed in several recent studies. Therefore, current practices require further research and identification of potentially protective factors for mental health. Objective: This study aimed to analyze academic self-efficacy as a protective factor against depression, anxiety, and stress in university students. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used with 3525 university students from Lima, Peru. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was measured using the DASS-21. Academic self-efficacy was measured with the EPAESA and defined as a predictor of the three mental health conditions. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model, together with a multigroup analysis for gender and working status. Results: One-third of the sample had severe to extremely severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Academic self-efficacy was a moderately statistically significant predictor of the three mental health conditions. Relationships were invariant to gender and working status. Conclusions: Self-efficacy can be considered a protective factor for mental health. Interventions to promote academic self-efficacy may be effective in reducing depression, anxiety, and stress in university students. The findings are discussed together with current studies on the topic. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1e2796b14d8e440e8b98907fc5e8783c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2411-5940 2413-4465 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Instituto Peruano de Orientación Psicológica – IPOPS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Interacciones |
| spelling | doaj-art-1e2796b14d8e440e8b98907fc5e8783c2025-02-03T02:01:50ZengInstituto Peruano de Orientación Psicológica – IPOPSInteracciones2411-59402413-44652022-12-018e28910.24016/2022.v8.289Academic self-efficacy as a protective factor for the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemicNayeli Lucía Ampuero-Tello0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5672-5682Angel Christopher Zegarra-López1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5873-745XDharma Ariana Padilla-López2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3410-2761Dafne Silvana Venturo-Pimentel3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8106-4182Círculo de Investigación en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Lima, Lima, Peru.Círculo de Investigación en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Lima, Lima, Peru; Grupo de Investigación en Psicología, Bienestar y Sociedad, Instituto de Investigación Científica, Universidad de Lima, Lima, Peru.Círculo de Investigación en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Lima, Lima, Peru.Círculo de Investigación en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Lima, Lima, Peru.Background: University students are vulnerable to developing mental health problems due to constant exposure to academic demands. A situation that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and observed in several recent studies. Therefore, current practices require further research and identification of potentially protective factors for mental health. Objective: This study aimed to analyze academic self-efficacy as a protective factor against depression, anxiety, and stress in university students. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used with 3525 university students from Lima, Peru. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was measured using the DASS-21. Academic self-efficacy was measured with the EPAESA and defined as a predictor of the three mental health conditions. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model, together with a multigroup analysis for gender and working status. Results: One-third of the sample had severe to extremely severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Academic self-efficacy was a moderately statistically significant predictor of the three mental health conditions. Relationships were invariant to gender and working status. Conclusions: Self-efficacy can be considered a protective factor for mental health. Interventions to promote academic self-efficacy may be effective in reducing depression, anxiety, and stress in university students. The findings are discussed together with current studies on the topic.https://ojs.revistainteracciones.com/index.php/rin/article/view/289self efficacymental healthdepressionanxietystresshigher educationuniversity studentscovid-19 |
| spellingShingle | Nayeli Lucía Ampuero-Tello Angel Christopher Zegarra-López Dharma Ariana Padilla-López Dafne Silvana Venturo-Pimentel Academic self-efficacy as a protective factor for the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic Interacciones self efficacy mental health depression anxiety stress higher education university students covid-19 |
| title | Academic self-efficacy as a protective factor for the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Academic self-efficacy as a protective factor for the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Academic self-efficacy as a protective factor for the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Academic self-efficacy as a protective factor for the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Academic self-efficacy as a protective factor for the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | academic self efficacy as a protective factor for the mental health of university students during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | self efficacy mental health depression anxiety stress higher education university students covid-19 |
| url | https://ojs.revistainteracciones.com/index.php/rin/article/view/289 |
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