Effect of Self-efficacy on Stress-related Fatigue: Influences of Direct Psychophysiological Reaction Pathway and Indirect Coping Behaviors Pathway

• Main Authors: Yu-Ting Yang, 楊于婷
• Other Authors: Fu-Chien Hung
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/63832097123703826491

碩士 === 中原大學 === 心理學研究所 === 100 === Background: Fatigue is a common physical complaint in the modern world, and it affects the effectiveness of individuals’ work and their quality of life. The exact reason for sustained fatigue has not yet been determined. The term “stress-related fatigue” indicates that stress is one of the main causes of fatigue. However, different individuals have different stress responses to the same stressful experience. Self-efficacy plays a vital role in identifying stressors and reducing the impact of stress. Therefore, the present study was designed to explore how self-efficacy influences perceived fatigue. Two fundamental pathways of influence were determined: the direct psychophysiological reaction and the indirect coping behaviors. Method: The first study on the psychophysiological reaction pathway was a 2  2 experimental design (fatigueself-efficacy), in which 64 female nurses were categorized into either a fatigue or health group on the basis of their total score on the Checklist Individual Strength Questionnaire. Thereafter, a random procedure was used to manipulate self-efficacy to influence their coping self-efficacy and identify a high and low self-efficacy group. Heart rate variability, skin temperature, skin conductance level, and blood volume pulse were recorded using biofeedback (ProComp Infiniti™). The psychophysiological reactivity and recovery of each psychophysiological index are compared. A secondary study on the indirect coping behaviors pathway examined 212 university graduate students, who completed a set of questionnaires, which included the Checklist Individual Strength Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition, Self-Efficacy Inventory, and Brief COPE. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the mediation effect of coping strategies between self-efficacy and fatigue. Result: In accordance with the hypothesis of the first study, the level of perceived fatigue and self-efficacy has a significant correlation with the level of psychophysiological reaction, and there exists an interactive relationship between fatigue and self-efficacy. The results demonstrated that the health group recovered their blood volume pulse more efficiently than the fatigue group, and the two factors fatigue and self-efficacy were found to interact. When the fatigued participants’ perceived self-efficacy was raised, their recovery of skin conductance level was not as efficient as that of health participants or as that of those in the fatigue group who perceived their self-efficacy to be the same or lower. This was incompatible with the hypothesis that high self-efficacy reduces psychophysiological stress responses, that is, stress response or recovery may be influenced by coping behaviors and resource efforts. However, the consequence of the indirect pathway determined by the secondary study was in agreement with the following hypothesis: both positive and negative self-efficacy affected fatigue levels. When graduate students had higher negative self-efficacy, their fatigue level increased relatively and vice versa: with their positive self-efficacy elevation, their fatigue level decreased relatively. The mediation effect was found only when avoidance coping was the mediator of the relationship between negative self-efficacy and fatigue. Individuals with negative self-efficacy and high avoidance coping had higher levels of fatigue as well as poor mental health and poor quality of life. Discussion: The research result demonstrates that self-efficacy is a key factor with regard to fatigue. Increased support in terms of both the direct psychophysiological reaction pathway and the indirect coping behaviors pathway influence the level of fatigue; the results indicate that the relation between self-efficacy and perceived fatigue may be influenced by the level of coping resources. This may prove to be a useful suggestion for future research and interventions.