Positive relationship with others and self-efficacy in university students

Self-efficacy constitutes one of the most decisive motivational variables of students’ achievement behaviors, significantly influencing the level of effort and persistence in tasks, as well as academic performance. Its important contribution in the academic field has promoted a growing interest in the identification of psychological resources that would favor selfefficacy expectations in the academic field. In line with this proactive approach, the objective of the present study was to analyze the relationship between self-efficacy and positive relationships with others, the latter erected in one of the core dimensions of psychological well-being. The research involved 630 students (427 women and 203 men) from the University of Corunna (Spain), aged between 18 and 46 years (M = 21.17; DT = 3.31). A non experimental study was conducted with a transverse cohort design. Three levels (low, medium, and high) were established in the variable positive relationships with others, taking the 33 and 66 percentiles as cut-off points. The differences in self-efficacy between these three levels were determined by a one-way ANOVA. The results showed statistically significant differences between thethreelevels,so that the group with higher levels of positive relationships with others showed higher levels of general self-efficacy than the middle and low groups. The magnitude of the effect was medium. These findings suggest that having significant emotional ties with other people would favor higher students’ self-perceived competencies to face their day-to-day life