General self–efficacy as a moderator between stress and positive mental health in an African context

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore whether general self-efficacy would moderate the relationship between stress and positive mental health in participants from an African context. Literature supported the concept that stress has a negative influence on mental health and that this interaction may be moderated by cognitive resources. General self-efficacy is a cognitive resource that may act as a moderator in the negative association between stress and positive mental health. Although general self-efficacy is thought to be a universal construct, little empirical research on it has been conducted in an African context. An African socio-cultural context is often described as more collectivistic and characterised by social harmony and interdependence. A sample of 1050 participants from both urban (n=451) and rural (n=599) settings completed Setswana versions of the four relevant questionnaires, i.e. the Mental Health Continuum - Short Form (MHC-SF, Keyes, 2006), used to measure positive mental health, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ, Goldberg & Hillier, 1979), used to measure the experience of stress, the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE, Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1992) and the New General Self-Efficacy Scale (NGSE, Chen, Gully & Eden, 2001), both measuring general self-efficacy. Data were collected in a quantitative cross-sectional survey design with the aid of 16 trained bilingual (English and Setswana speaking) fieldworkers. Results showed negative correlations between the GHQ (SS, AS, SD, and DS) and MHC-SF (EWB, PWB, and SWB). Results indicated that general self-efficacy moderated the negative effect of manifestation of stress as shown by indices of psychological distress on emotional, psychological and social well-being. Thus, it is found that higher levels of self-efficacy are beneficial for the well-being of individuals in this African sample.