Self-efficacy expectancies, outcome expectancies, and the persistence of pain control in childbirth.

Examined A. Bandura's (see record 1977-25733-001) self-efficacy theory of mastery behavior, which distinguishes self-efficacy expectancies (SEEs) from outcome expectancies (OEs), by the relative roles of SEEs, OEs, and importance as predictors of persistence of pain control in medication-free childbirth. 52 primiparous women made self-efficacy judgments before and during labor and then reported in postdelivery interviews the timing and amount of medication use during labor and delivery. SEEs predicted persistence in pain control without medication better than OEs, importance, and 7 other alternative predictors. These results support several aspects of construct validation to the SEE construct. However, SEEs and OEs were highly correlated and largely redundant in their correlations with mastery. Three possible reasons and implications for this lack of differentiation are discussed. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)