Relationship between Self-efficacy and Perceived Stress in Spouses of Veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Living with someone who has a post-traumatic stress disorder of war can increase the stress and marital incompatibilities. These pressures can decrease the self-efficacy in veterans’ spouses.
This study was conducted to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and perceived stress in spouses of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder of war.
Material and In this descriptive correlational study, 187 spouses of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder were selected from Kashan city using the simple random sampling method in 2016. The data collection tools were the Sherer self-efficacy questionnaire and perceived stress questionnaire, which were collected by the method of self-report. Then, the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Spearman correlation coefficient, Mann-Whitney test) by the SPSS 21 software.
The rate of self-efficacy was 43.3±7.79 and the rate of perceived stress was 30.64±2.61. The Spearman correlation coefficient test showed a statistically significant correlation between self-efficacy and perceived stress (P=0.001, r= -0.4), so that with increasing self-efficacy, the perceived stress was reduced in veterans’ wives.
Discussion and This study shows that with increased self-efficacy, the amount of stress perceived by spouses of the veterans is reduced. Therefore, it is recommended to learn how to increase self-efficacy in coping with stress.