Self-Efficacy and Psychological Well-Being of Family Caregivers of Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

Caring for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) can be a challenging responsibility, particularly for family caregivers because of SCI patients' functional limitations in performing activities of daily living. Previous studies have focused on the stress and burden of caregiving. With an emphasis on the positive aspects of caregiving, this study sought to determine whether self-efficacy influences psychological well-being, and if perceived social support can enhance the relationship of self-efficacy and psychological well-being of family caregivers of SCI patients in the Philippines. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 106 family primary caregivers of SCI patients from a government hospital in Quezon City, Philippines through purposive and snowball sampling. The participants were aged 18-76 years old (73.6% females, 26.4% males). The following scales were used to measure the variables: General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES; Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995), Ryff's (1989) scales of psychological well-being (SPWB), and the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS; Zimet et al., 1988). Model 1 of Hayes' Process Macro was used to test the moderating effect of perceived social support in the relationship between self-efficacy and psychological well-being. Correlation analysis revealed that self-efficacy, perceived social support, and age were all significantly related to psychological well-being. In the moderation analysis with self-efficacy as an independent variable, perceived social support as a moderator and age as a covariate, only age showed a significant effect on psychological well-being. In addition, no significant interaction between self-efficacy and perceived social support was found. Self-efficacy serves an important role in the psychological well-being of family caregivers of SCI patients. It is recommended that further studies that examine these variables be conducted in non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Developed) contexts such as the Philippines.