The relationship between self-efficacy and despair in elementary students: a pilot study

Self-efficacy and despair are factors that can directly affect the quality of life of individuals. This study aimed to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and despair in young individuals and was carried out on elementary students.
This research is a descriptive and correlational study. The study sample consisted of both girl and boy students of Mohtashami Elementary School in the city of Torbat Heydariyeh. From the population, a total of 89 girls and boys were selected using the stratified random sampling method. In this study, the measuring tools were Scherer's self-efficacy questionnaire, the scale of despair of Kazdyn and demographic information. The accumulated data was processed using spss software, version 20.
The results showed there was no significant correlation between the efficacy and despair in boys (r=-0.13, sig=0.546). However, there was a significant inversed correlation between efficacy and despair in the girls; and the correlation coefficient (r=-0.48) and a significant amount (sig=0.006) was obtained.
It can be concluded that an increase in self-efficacy of students could reduce despair. Suitable self-efficacy methods should be introduced and strengthened in classroom environments. More research needs to be done on this subject in the future.