Self-efficacy, stress, and adjustment in Latino college students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to apply a diathesis-stress model to the study of Latino self-efficacy and college adjustment. Specifically, it was of interest to determine whether self-efficacy or its subcomponents would buffer Latino students from the effects of stress in college adjustment or its subcomponents. The sample consisted of 144 Latino undergraduate students. Results suggest that although self-efficacy and its subcomponents had a large effect on adjustment and its subcomponents, they were not found to buffer stress. Hence a diathesis-stress model was not supported. Academic self-efficacy did buffer the effects of stress in predicting academic success, and was supportive of a partial diathesis-stress model. Implications of these findings include promoting the importance of having high self-efficacy and attempting to instill it in Latino youth through the educational system.