Self-Efficacy (SE) has been explored extensively within the field of psychology. Despite a rich literature demonstrating its positive effect on various behavioral outcomes, including psychological treatment outcomes, little is known about the impact of SE on outcomes related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To fill this critical gap in the literature, the aim of the present study was to determine whether increasing SE may improve engagement in exposure-based interventions for contamination fears. Nonclinical participants (N = 120) were randomly assigned to complete a contamination-related behavioral approach task (CR-BAT) immediately following either a SE-boosting exercise or a non-SE related control. Results demonstrated that there were no differences between conditions in contamination-related SE or approach behavior during the CRBAT, indicating that the manipulation was ineffective in boosting SE. Interestingly, however, participants in the SE-boosting condition reported lower levels of anxiety during certain phases of the CR-BAT than did those in the control condition, suggesting that the manipulation was effective in reducing subjective distress. Furthermore, SE was positively correlated with approach behavior during the CR-BAT, thus corroborating past research linking SE to behavioral outcomes. Future research, using more effective methods to manipulate SE, is required to examine the causality of this relationship.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nova.edu/oai:nsuworks.nova.edu:cps_stuetd-1114 |
| Date | 01 January 2018 |
| Creators | Merling, Lori Francesca |
| Publisher | NSUWorks |
| Source Sets | Nova Southeastern University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | campusdissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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