Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (710 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Cognitive mechanism based on expectations or beliefs about one's ability to perform actions necessary to produce a given effect. It is also a theoretical component of behavior change in various therapeutic treatments. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Efficacy, Self.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Self Concept
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 30,751 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Self Efficacy” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 10,373 of them (33.7%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 13,399 records.
Reviews account for 1,724 records (5.6%) and meta-analyses for 310. Randomized controlled trials number 4,181 (13.6%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up a comparatively large share of this literature, which means many treatment questions have been tested directly.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 0 |
| 2000-2009 | 7,250 |
| 2010-2019 | 13,399 |
| 2020 onward | 10,373 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 1,724 | 5.6% |
| Meta-analyses | 310 | 1.0% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 4,181 | 13.6% |
Method: PubMed query "Self Efficacy"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in psychiatry and psychology
Research on mental health and behaviour relies on questionnaires, interviews and rating scales rather than physical measurements, so how a condition was defined and measured shapes every result. Many studies are observational or small, placebo responses can be large, and findings in one group or culture may not carry over to another. Nothing on this page is advice about diagnosis or treatment; anyone worried about their mental health should talk to a qualified clinician. Check how outcomes were measured, who took part and how long they were followed.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-medication behavior among medical students: the roles of stress, self-efficacy, and health literacy | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42021288 · DOI · PMC13238113 |
| Teacher Self-Efficacy and Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Satisfaction with Students, Colleagues, and Parents | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 41752233 · DOI · PMC12940229 |
| Informatics Competency and Technology Self-Efficacy Levels Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: Cross-Sectional Study | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 1 | cc by PMID 42258796 · DOI · PMC13245837 |
Self-medication behavior among medical students: the roles of stress, self-efficacy, and health literacy [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BACKGROUND: Self-medication, the use of medications without professional consultation, is prevalent among medical students and poses risks such as drug misuse and delayed diagnosis.
- Closing excerpt
- Targeted interventions should promote safe practices, address gender-specific stressors, and enhance health literacy to mitigate risks.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (243 words)
BACKGROUND: Self-medication, the use of medications without professional consultation, is prevalent among medical students and poses risks such as drug misuse and delayed diagnosis. This study examined the roles of stress, self-efficacy, and health literacy in self-medication behaviours among undergraduate medical students in Pakistan. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2025 at Nowshehra Medical College, involving 241 students (158 females and 83 males) selected through a convenience sampling method. A self-modified structured questionnaire was used to assess health literacy (nine items), self-efficacy (six items), stress (ten items), and self-medication behaviour. Data were analyzed using SPSS v30.0, employing t-tests to compare sex differences and binary logistic regression to identify predictors of the outcome. Ethical approval was obtained (Ref. 30/ERB/NMC). RESULTS: No sex differences were found in health literacy (p = 0.630) or self-efficacy (p = 0.156), but females reported higher stress (p 0.05). However, significant predictors included reliance on past experiences (OR = 1.823, p = 0.003) and health-related stress (OR = 1.607, p = 0.007), while safe self-medication practices were protective (OR = 0.679, p = 0.027). The overall model explained 18.5% of the variance (Nagelkerke R² = 0.185) but had low classification accuracy (47.9–49.2%). Visualisations, including bar charts, ROC curves, box plots, and heatmaps, highlighted the stress disparities and predictor strengths. CONCLUSION: Unsupervised medication use and stress drive self-medication among medical students. Targeted interventions should promote safe practices, address gender-specific stressors, and enhance health literacy to mitigate risks.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42021288 · DOI · PMC13238113
Teacher Self-Efficacy and Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Satisfaction with Students, Colleagues, and Parents [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The recent literature has increasingly drawn attention to the role of teachers' personal and relational resources in managing stress and sustaining their well-being.
- Closing excerpt
- Taken together, these findings underscore how both individual competencies and everyday relational experiences contribute to teachers' well-being, pointing to the value of interventions that strengthen self-efficacy and enhance the quality of relationships within the school context.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (179 words)
The recent literature has increasingly drawn attention to the role of teachers' personal and relational resources in managing stress and sustaining their well-being. In this study, we examined how self-efficacy and satisfaction in key school relationships contribute to teachers' psychological health. A sample of 339 Italian teachers (Mage = 49.7, SD = 9.26; 85.5% female) completed measures assessing their self-efficacy, satisfaction in relationships with students, colleagues, and parents, and their overall well-being. We tested a parallel mediation model to explore whether these three forms of relational satisfaction helped explain the link between self-efficacy and well-being. The analyses indicated that higher self-efficacy was associated with greater satisfaction across all relational domains, as well as with better well-being. Moreover, satisfaction with students, colleagues, and parents each emerged as a significant mediator, while the direct effect of self-efficacy remained significant, suggesting a pattern of partial mediation. Taken together, these findings underscore how both individual competencies and everyday relational experiences contribute to teachers' well-being, pointing to the value of interventions that strengthen self-efficacy and enhance the quality of relationships within the school context.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41752233 · DOI · PMC12940229
Informatics Competency and Technology Self-Efficacy Levels Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: Cross-Sectional Study [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundThe Saudi Arabian health care sector is transforming under Vision 2030 with the goal of digitizing its services.
- Closing excerpt
- While underpowered, exploratory analyses and self-report data mean that these institution-specific findings should be interpreted cautiously and used primarily to guide future multisite and mixed methods research.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (288 words)
BackgroundThe Saudi Arabian health care sector is transforming under Vision 2030 with the goal of digitizing its services. This necessitates a digitally prepared nursing workforce; however, there is evidence suggesting that nursing students have limited informatics competency and that these skills are minimally covered in their training programs.ObjectiveThis study measured the baseline informatics competency and technology self-efficacy of undergraduate nursing students at the University of Hail, Saudi Arabia.MethodsUsing a descriptive cross-sectional design, data were collected from 243 undergraduate nursing students at the University of Hail through an online survey. The survey measured demographics, informatics competency (Canadian Nurse Informatics Competency Assessment Scale), and digital technology self-efficacy. Data analysis used descriptive statistics, 2-tailed t tests, ANOVA, and hierarchical regression analysis.ResultsStudents reported a moderate level of informatics competency, with a mean Canadian Nurse Informatics Competency Assessment Scale item score of 2.57 (SD 0.84) on a scale from 1 to 4. They also showed moderate to high self-efficacy for digital technology, with a mean item score of 2.7 (SD 0.56) out of 4. Informatics competency scores were substantially higher in students with prior informatics training and frequent electronic health record exposure. In the underpowered exploratory hierarchical regression model, self-efficacy for digital technology showed a small positive association with informatics competency that approached statistical significance; however, the overall model was not statistically significant and explained only a limited proportion of the variance.ConclusionsThis single-site study of undergraduate nursing students at the University of Hail found moderate self-reported informatics competency despite higher digital technology self-efficacy, indicating a need for strengthened informatics education to support the Saudi Vision 2030. While underpowered, exploratory analyses and self-report data mean that these institution-specific findings should be interpreted cautiously and used primarily to guide future multisite and mixed methods research.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42258796 · DOI · PMC13245837
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article The Role of Psychosocial Processes in the Development and Maintenance of Chronic Pain [4]
- Research article The impact of changing attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy on health-related intentions and behavior: A meta-analysis [5]
- Research article Emotion-related self-regulation and its relation to children's maladjustment [6]
- Research article The nature of procrastination: a meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure [7]
- Research article Negative self-efficacy and goal effects revisited [8]
- Research article What are the most effective techniques in changing obese individuals' physical activity self-efficacy and behaviour: a systematic review and meta-analysis [9]
References
- Basit A, Khan MR, Ud Din AF, Waheed M, Hamid M, Rehman M, et al.. Self-medication behavior among medical students: the roles of stress, self-efficacy, and health literacy. . 2026. PMID 42021288 · DOI · PMC13238113
- Marcedula F, Angelini G, Fiorilli C. Teacher Self-Efficacy and Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Satisfaction with Students, Colleagues, and Parents. . 2026. PMID 41752233 · DOI · PMC12940229
- Alnomasy N, Alrashedi H, Alsayed S, Pangket P, Alsayed R. Informatics Competency and Technology Self-Efficacy Levels Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: Cross-Sectional Study. . 2026. PMID 42258796 · DOI · PMC13245837
- Edwards RR, Dworkin RH, Sullivan MD, Turk DC, Wasan AD. The Role of Psychosocial Processes in the Development and Maintenance of Chronic Pain. J Pain. 2016. PMID 27586832 · DOI · PMC5012303
- Sheeran P, Maki A, Montanaro E, Avishai-Yitshak A, Bryan A, Klein WM, et al.. The impact of changing attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy on health-related intentions and behavior: A meta-analysis. Health Psychol. 2016. PMID 27280365 · DOI
- Eisenberg N, Spinrad TL, Eggum ND. Emotion-related self-regulation and its relation to children's maladjustment. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2010. PMID 20192797 · DOI · PMC3018741
- Steel P. The nature of procrastination: a meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychol Bull. 2007. PMID 17201571 · DOI
- Bandura A, Locke EA. Negative self-efficacy and goal effects revisited. J Appl Psychol. 2003. PMID 12675397 · DOI
- Olander EK, Fletcher H, Williams S, Atkinson L, Turner A, French DP. What are the most effective techniques in changing obese individuals' physical activity self-efficacy and behaviour: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2013. PMID 23452345 · DOI · PMC3639155
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.