Self-efficacy: a comparison between clinically anxious and non-referred youth.
Although diminished self-efficacy has been linked to childhood psychopathology, including depression, it has only recently been studied in relation to childhood anxiety disorders. This study examines the relationship between self-efficacy and self-reported anxiety in children who have been referred for an assessment and possible treatment of anxiety symptoms as well as a comparison group of non-referred children. A self-efficacy questionnaire for children and a childhood anxiety measure were administered to a group of children referred for assessment and treatment of a clinical anxiety disorder (n = 50) and a non-referred control group (n = 50). Results indicate that the two samples differed significantly on measures of emotional self-efficacy, but not in terms of self-reported anxiety or other self-efficacy domains. Potential explanations for observed findings are discussed, including the possibility that self-reports of emotional self-efficacy in children may vary by clinical or referral status, amongst those reporting higher levels of anxiety overall.
Landon
Terri M
TM
Department of Psychology, Boston University, 648 Beacon Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA. tlandon@bu.edu
Ehrenreich
Jill T
JT
Pincus
Donna B
DB
D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires