The Course of Self-Efficacy for Therapeutic Use of Self in Norwegian Occupational Therapy Students: A 10-Month Follow-Up Study

Abstract EN

Background.

Occupational therapy students need to develop self-efficacy for managing the therapeutic relationship in practice.

This study examined the 10-month trajectories of Norwegian students’ self-efficacy for use of self.

Methods.

Eighty-nine students completed self-efficacy questionnaires related to the use of self after a workshop and at 3- and 10-month follow-up.

Changes on the three outcome measures (self-efficacy for therapeutic mode use, for recognizing clients’ interpersonal characteristics, and for managing interpersonal events) were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA.

Results.

Across the follow-up period, the students improved their self-efficacy for therapeutic mode use (partial η 2 = 0.44, p < 0.001 ), for recognizing clients’ interpersonal characteristics (partial η 2 = 0.81, p < 0.001 ), and for managing interpersonal events (partial η 2 = 0.32 , p < 0.001 ).

Conclusion.

The increased self-efficacy for use of self that was found at 3-month follow-up was maintained at 10-month follow-up.

The results indicate that students may experience a boost in self-efficacy for therapeutic use of self after a brief workshop and that these changes can be sustained over time.