Self-efficacy: familial and cultural perspectives

ABSTRACT

This study examined associations between self-efficacy and various dimensions of family patterns – differentiation of self, satisfaction with differentiation of self, and intergenerational triangulation – among a sample of 393 college students from Israel. The sample comprised 140 males and 253 females, and 264 Jews and 129 Arabs. Self-efficacy was positively correlated with differentiation of self and negatively correlated with intergenerational triangulation. Arab students reported lower levels of self-efficacy and higher levels of emotional cutoff and intergenerational triangulation than Jewish participants. The results shed light on two important concepts in Bowen’s family system theory – differentiation of self and intergenerational triangulation – and lend empirical support to the relation between them on the one hand, and personal well-being on the other hand.

KEYWORDS:

• Self-efficacy
• differentiation of self
• emotional reactivity
• I-position
• emotional cutoff
• fusion with others

Acknowledgement

The author wishes to thank Helene Hogri for her valuable comments which helped strengthen the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Ora Peleg is a Professor and Head of the Counselling and Education Departments at the Academic College Emek Yezreel, Israel. Her research interests include family patterns, cultural differences, stress and anxiety, and quality of life.

Meirav Idan-Biton is a school counsellor and holistic therapist in Israel. Her research interests include marital quality, family patterns, well-being, anxiety and faith.