The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and the quality of life (QOL) in Chinese individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) and to examine whether health status and demographic variables correlated with the QOL in this population. One hundred individuals with SCI in China participated in the study. The results indicated that self-efficacy beliefs accounted for a substantial variance in the QOL of the participants. Moreover, health status, income, educational level, and time spent on voluntary work were correlated with the QOL in this population. The results are discussed in line with the Chinese culture and its influences on psychosocial adjustment to SCI and rehabilitation services for people with disabilities in China.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Altmaier, E.G., Russell, D.W., Kao, C.E., Lehmann, T.R., & Weinnstein, J.N. (1993). Role of self-efficacy in rehabilitation outcome among chronic low back pain patients. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 40, 335-339.
2.
Arns, P.G., & Linney, J.A. (1993). Work, self, and life satisfaction for persons with severe and persistent mental disorders. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 17(2), 63-79.
3.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unified theory of behavior change. Psychological Review, 94, 191-215.
4.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
6.
Becker, H., & Schaller, J. (1995). Perceived health and self-efficacy among adults with cerebral palsy. TheJournal of Rehabilitation, 61 (2), 36-42.
7.
Becker, H., Stuifbergen, A.K., Ingalsbe, K., & Sands, D. (1989). Health promotion attitudes and behaviors among persons with disabilities. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 12, 235-250.
8.
Berkman, P.L. (1971). Measurement of mental health in a general population survey. American Journal of Epidemiology, 94, 105-111.
9.
Boschen, K.A. (1996). Correlates of life satisfaction, residential satisfaction, and locus of control among adults with spinal cord injuries. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 39, 230-243.
10.
Boswell, B.B., Dawson, M., & Heininger, E. (1998). Quality of life as defined by adults with spinal cord injuries. TheJournal of Rehabilitation, 64(1), 27-32.
11.
Chan, F., Lam, C.S., & Wong, D. (1988). Counseling Chinese Americans with disabilities . Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 19(4), 21-25.
12.
China Internet Information Center (1998). Income and consumption [WWW document]. Available from http://www.Chinanews.org (Visited 1999, January 8).
13.
Chinese State Council. (1978). Regulations on the placement of employees with chronic illness or disabilities . Beijing, China: Author.
14.
Chinese State Council. (1988). China's five-year work program for people with disabilities (1988-1992). Beijing, China: Author.
15.
Chinese State Council. (1996). China's five-year work program for people with disabilities (1996-2000). Beijing, China: Author.
16.
Chubon, R.A. (1995). Manual for the Life Situation Survey. Columbia : University of South Carolina.
17.
Chubon, R.A., & Clayton, K.S. (1995). An exploratory study comparing the quality of life of South Carolinians with mental retardation and spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 39, 107-118.
18.
Clayton, K.S., & Chubon, R.A. (1994). Factors associated with the quality of life of long-term spinal cord injured persons. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 76, 633-638.
19.
DiClemente, C.C., Fairhurst, S.F., & Piotrowski, N. (1995). The role of self-efficacy in the addictive behavior. In J. E. Maddux, Self-efficacy, adaptation and adjustment: Theory, research and application. New York: Plenum Press.
20.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin,95, 542-575.
21.
Hampton, N.Z. (1998, April). Enhancing the quality of life of people with spinal cord injuries. Paper presented at the World Conference of the American Counseling Association, Indianapolis, IN.
22.
Hu, W. (1997). Making efforts to implement the quota system of employment of people with disabilities. Disability in China , 102, 22-23.
23.
Judge, T.A., Locke, E.A., & Durham, C.C. (1997). The dispositional causes of job satisfaction: A core evaluations approach. Research in Organizational Behavior , 19, 151-188.
24.
Judge, T.A., Locke, E.A., & Durham, C.C. (1998). Dispositional effects on job and life satisfaction: The role of core evaluations. Journal of Applied Psychology , 83, 17-34.
25.
Krause, J.S. (1990). The relationship of productivity to adjustment following spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin , 33, 188-199.
26.
Krause, J.S. (1992). Life satisfaction after spinal cord injury: A descriptive study. Rehabilitation Psychology, 37, 61-70.
27.
Krause, J.S., & Dawis, R. (1992). Prediction of life satisfaction after spinal cord injury: A four-year longitudinal approach. Rehabilitation Psychology, 37, 49-59.
28.
Lawton, M.P., Moss, M., Fucomer, M., & Kleban, M.H. (1982). A research and service oriented multilevel assessment instrument. Journal of Gerontology, 37, 91-99.
29.
Liu, S. (1997). A follow up study of 156 outpatients with spinal cord injuries. Chinese Journal of RehabilitationTheory and Practice, 3, 172-175.
30.
Mehnert, T., Krauss, H.H., Nadler, R., & Boyd, M. (1990). Correlates of life satisfaction in those with disabling conditions. Rehabilitation Psychology, 35, 3-17.
31.
Mitchell, L., Brodwin, M., & Benoit, R. (1990). Strengthening the worker's compensation system by increasing client efficacy. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 21(4), 22-26.
32.
Pain, K., Dunn, M., Anderson, G., Darrah, J., & Kratochvil, M. (1998). Quality of life: What does it mean in rehabilitation. TheJournal of Rehabilitation , 64(2), 5-11.
33.
Pan, Z., Chaffee, S., Chu, G.C., & Ju, Y. (1995). To see ourselves: Comparing traditional Chinese and American cultural values. San Francisco: Westview Press.
34.
Powers, L.E., Sowers, J., & Stevens, T. (1995). An exploratory, randomized study of the impact of mentoring on the self-efficacy and community-based knowledge of adolescents with severe physical challenges. TheJournal of Rehabilitation , 61 (1), 33-41.
35.
Roessler, R.T. (1990). A quality of life perspective on rehabilitation counseling. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 34(2), 82-91.
36.
Schulz, R., & Decker, S. (1985). Long-term adjustment to physical disability: The role of social support, perceived control, and self-blame. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 1162-1172.
37.
Shaffer, H. (1978). Psychological rehabilitation, skill-building, and self-efficacy. American Psychologist, 33, 394-396.
38.
Sherer, M., Maddux, J.E., Mercandante, B., Prentice-Dunn, S., Jacobs, B., & Rogers, R.W. (1982). The self-efficacy scale: Construction and validation . Psychological Report, 51, 663-671.
39.
Stensman, R. (1994). Adjustment to traumatic spinal cord injury: A longitudinal study of self-reported quality of life. Paraplegia , 32, 416-422.
40.
Strauser, D.R. (1995). Application of self-efficacy theory in rehabilitation counseling. TheJournal of Rehabilitation, 61 (1), 7-11.
41.
Trieschmann, R.B. (1988). Spinal cord injuries: Psychological, social and vocational rehabilitation (2nd ed.). New York: Demos.
42.
Waltz, M., & Badura, B. (1988). Subjective health, intimacy, and perceived self-efficacy after heart attack: Predicting life quality five years afterward. Social Indicators Research, 20, 303-332.
43.
Wang, J. (1992). The maimed "half sky"—The employment crisis of women in China. Chinese Education, 25(1), 6-15.
44.
Whiteneck, G.G. (1993). Changing attitudes toward life. In G. G. Whiteneck & R. Menter, Aging with spinal cord injury. (pp. 211-218). New York: Demos.
45.
Whiteneck, G.G. (1994). Measuring what matters: Key rehabilitation outcomes . Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 75, 1073-1076.
46.
Zhang, N. (1989, Winter). Sweet and sour: A comparison of services provision for disabled people in Britain and China. The Contact— An Official Journal of the Royal Association of Rehabilitation andDisability, 49-51.
