An Investigation on the Relationship Between Self-efficacy With Spiritual Adjustment and Life Expectancy in Adult Earthquake Residents in Sarpol-e Zahab City, Iran in 2019

Earthquakes are among the most natural catastrophic disasters. Adults’ response to disasters largely depends on their physical health, mobility, self-efficacy, resource, and income level. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between self-efficacy with spiritual adjustment and life expectancy in earthquake-stricken adults living in Sarpol-e Zahab City, Iran.

The present study is a descriptive-analytical study that was done on 135 earthquake-stricken adults in Sarpol-e Zahab City. The study data were collected using the Scherer general self-efficacy questionnaire, Herth’s life expectancy questionnaire, spiritual adjustment, and demographic data in Spring 1998. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS version 24 and descriptive and inferential statistics.

In this study, 135 adults were enrolled, 65.2% were men and the rest were women. The Mean±SD age of the samples was 41.64±11.49 years. The Mean±SD values of self-efficacy, spiritual adjustment, and life expectancy were 55.64±10.29, 150.47±35.17, and  28.44±5.75, respectively. There was a significant and positive correlation between self-efficacy and spiritual adjustment. There was a positive and significant relationship between self-efficacy and life expectancy as well as life expectancy and spiritual adjustment.

The findings of the present study showed a high correlation between self-efficacy, life expectancy, and spiritual adjustment. People with high spiritual well-being and life expectancy are more adaptable to their problems; accordingly, their reinforcement of spiritual well-being and life expectancy increases their adaptability to the situation. Therefore, it is recommended that educational programs be developed to increase the self-efficacy of earthquake-affected individuals and increase their life expectancy and spiritual well-being.