Department of Community & Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, United States.
Department of Biostatistics & Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, United States.
Glob Public Health. 2023 Jan;18(1):2213300. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2023.2213300.
Growth mindset, persistence, and self-efficacy are important protective factors in understanding adolescent psychopathology, including depression, anxiety, and externalising behaviours. Previous studies have shown that dimensions of self-efficacy (academic, social, and emotional) have differential protective effects with mental health outcomes and these differences vary by sex. This study examines the dimensional mediation of self-efficacy from motivational mindsets on anxiety, depression, and externalising behaviours in a sample of early adolescents ages 10-11. Surveys were administered to participants to measure growth mindset and persistence on internalising and externalising symptoms. The Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) was used to measure domains of self-efficacy for mediation analysis. Multi-group structural equation modelling by sex indicated that structural paths were not invariant by sex. Significant direct effects were identified from persistence to externalising behaviours in boys, and significant direct effects were identified from growth mindset to depression in girls. In a sample of Tanzanian early adolescents, self-efficacy mediates the protective association between motivational mindsets on psychopathology. Higher academic self-efficacy was associated with reduced externalising problems in both boys and girls. Implications for adolescent programmes and future research are discussed.
成长型思维、毅力和自我效能感是理解青少年心理病理学（包括抑郁、焦虑和外化行为）的重要保护因素。先前的研究表明，自我效能感的各个维度（学业、社交和情感）对心理健康结果具有不同的保护作用，并且这些差异因性别而异。本研究在一个 10-11 岁的早期青少年样本中，从动机思维模式的角度研究了自我效能感对焦虑、抑郁和外化行为的维度中介作用。通过问卷调查，评估参与者的成长型思维和毅力以及内隐和外显症状。采用儿童自我效能感问卷（SEQ-C）来测量自我效能感的各个维度，进行中介分析。按性别进行多组结构方程建模，结果表明，性别间的结构路径并不具有不变性。在男孩中，毅力与外化行为之间存在显著的直接影响，而在女孩中，成长型思维与抑郁之间存在显著的直接影响。在坦桑尼亚的早期青少年样本中，自我效能感在动机思维模式与心理病理学之间的保护关联中起中介作用。较高的学业自我效能感与男孩和女孩外化问题的减少有关。本文讨论了青少年项目和未来研究的意义。
