title: Self-efficacy, physical decline, and change in functioning in community-living elders: a prospective study.
abstract: This study examines whether high self-efficacy is protective against a decline in functional status in community-residing elderly persons. Data came from a sample of 1,103 subjects aged > or = 72 years who were ambulatory within the household and who received in-home assessments at baseline and 18 months later to obtain information on sociodemographic, psychosocial, and health status variables, including physical performance tests. Functional status was based on six basic self-care tasks (ADLs). Using OLS regression, lower self-efficacy was marginally related to decline in functional status, after controlling for sociodemographic and health-related variables. As hypothesized, there was a significant interaction effect between self-efficacy and change in physical performance, suggesting that low self-efficacy was particularly predictive of functional decline among older individuals who showed a decline in physical performance at follow-up. These findings provide support for the buffering effect of self-efficacy on functional decline in the face of diminished physical capacity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. MendesdeCF@MASPO2.MAS.Yale.Edu
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Mendes de Leon
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Seeman
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Tinetti
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012648:Self Care