Self-Efficacy in Students with and Without Physical Impairment

There has been long term and systematic denial of opportunities to people with disabilities, particularly in fields such as education, employment, housing, transport, cultural life and access to public places and services. The mistreatment and oppression inflicted on individuals who have some form of disability or impairment has been well documented. The present study analyzed associations of general self-efficacy beliefs with psychological adjustment, academic achievement, and attainment of developmental tasks in various hostels and homes with physical impairment and same group peers without physical impairment. In this study the main objective is to compare the self efficacy of physically impaired and without impaired. Between-group differences in levels of self-efficacy beliefs were small. On average, higher self-efficacy beliefs predicted positive change in psychological adjustment (life-satisfaction and emotional symptoms) and academic achievement as well as greater progress in the attainment of developmental tasks of adolescence. However, for emotional symptoms and the discrepancy between desired and present attainment of developmental tasks we found such an effect only for students without physical impairment. This paper also presented by me in National Conference on “Challenges of Contemporary Life – Role of Positive Psychology & 9th Annual Conference of Indian Association of Mental Health from 22nd to 24th January 2015 and not publish myself the same in any journal. We conclude that students with physical impairment may benefit from measures that both promote supportive external conditions for goal attainment and increase the self-management skills needed to translate self-efficacy beliefs into accomplishment of goals and related positive feelings.