Self-Efficacy and Neuroticism among Depressed Female University Students

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to explore self-efficacy and neuroticism within a population of depressed female university students. This research encompassed two distinct phases. In Phase-I, the focus was on the recruitment and selection of the sample, involving the administration of the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, et al., 1961) to a group of 500 female university students. Out of this initial pool, 300 female university students were identified as exhibiting high scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, et al., 1961).

Subsequently, Phase-II, which constituted the main part of the study, was carried out. To assess self-efficacy and neuroticism, the researchers employed the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Tabassum, Rehman, Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 2003) and the Adjective Checklist (Sechrest, Fay & Zaidi, 1972). These instruments were administered to the sample previously selected during Phase-I, consisting of 150 students from the Social Sciences field and another 150 from the Natural Sciences, all falling within the age range of 20 to 25 years. The correlation coefficient elucidates that there exists an inverse correlation between self-efficacy and neuroticism within the cohort of female university students grappling with depression. Moreover, it appears that students pursuing social sciences exhibit notably diminished levels of self-efficacy in comparison to their counterparts studying natural sciences. Conversely, students in the natural sciences seem to manifest elevated levels of neuroticism relative to their peers enrolled in social sciences.