Self-efficacy in depression: Bridging the gap between competence and real-world functioning

Background: Depression is the largest contributing factor to years lost to disability, and symptom remission does not always result in functional improvement. Comprehensive analysis of functioning requires investigation both of the competence to perform behaviours, as well as actual performance in the real world. Further, two independent domains of functioning have been proposed: adaptive (behaviours conducive to daily living skills and independent functioning) and interpersonal (behaviours conducive to the successful initiation and maintenance of social relationships). To date, very little is known about the relationship between these constructs in depression, and the factors that may play a key role in the disparity between competence and real-world performance in adaptive and interpersonal functioning. Purpose: This study used a multidimensional (adaptive and interpersonal functioning), multi-level (competence and performance) approach to explore the potential discrepancy between competence and real-world performance in depression, specifically investigating whether self-efficacy (one’s beliefs of their capability to perform particular actions) predicts depressed individuals’ underperformance in the real world relative to their ability. A comparison sample of healthy participants was included to investigate the level of depressed individuals’ impairment, across variables, relative to healthy individuals. Method: Forty-two participants with depression and twenty healthy participants without history of, or current, psychiatric illness were recruited in the Kingston, Ontario community. Competence, self-efficacy, and real-world functioning all in both adaptive and interpersonal domains, and symptoms were assessed during a single-visit assessment. Results: Relative to healthy individuals, depressed individuals showed significantly poorer adaptive and interpersonal competence, adaptive and interpersonal functioning, and significantly lower self-efficacy for adaptive and interpersonal behaviours. Self-efficacy significantly predicted functional disability both in the domain of adaptive and interpersonal functioning. Interpersonal self-efficacy accounted for significant variance in the discrepancy between interpersonal competence and functioning. Conclusions: The current study provides the first data regarding relationships among competence, functioning, and self-efficacy in depression. Self-efficacy may play an important role in the deployment of functional skills in everyday life. This has implications for therapeutic interventions aimed at enhancing depressed individuals’ engagement in functional activities. There may be additional intrinsic or extrinsic factors that influence the relationships among competence and functioning in depression.

The Debate on First Nations Education Funding: Mind the Gap (Working Paper 49)

It is at long last becoming part of the public discourse that improving living conditions and opportunities for First Nations communities in Canada is a national imperative. It is also widely recognized that the education is critical to fostering a better future for First Nations people. Yet, for many First Nations youth, particularly those on reserve, completing even high school is well beyond reach. The graduation rate of First Nations people living on reserve was 35.3 per cent as recently as 2011 compared with 78 per cent for the population as a whole. At the same time, the First Nations population is young and growing fast - in First Nations communities 49 per cent of the population is under 24 years of age compared to 30 per cent of the general population. Despite some incremental improvements in education success rates for First Nations students in recent years, the education gap between First Nations and the rest of the country is increasing. The concerns expressed in the 2011 Auditor General report continue to hold weight: "In 2004, we noted that at existing rates, it would take 28 years for First Nations communities to reach the national average. More recent trends suggest that the time needed may still be longer.

Family Background and Access to Post-Secondary Education: What Happened in the 1990's (Woking Paper 34)

This paper presents new evidence on the relationships between access to post-secondary education and family background. More specifically, we use the School Leavers Survey (SLS) and the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS)to analyze participation rates first in 1991, and then almost a decade later in 2000. Overall, post-secondary education participation rates rose over this period. However, participation is strongly related to parent’s education, and whereas participation increased for individuals with more highly educated parents (especially those who went to university), they increased rather less, or in some cases (especially for males) declined for those from lower parental education families. The already strong “effect” of parents’ education on post-secondary access became even greater in the 1990’s. Participation rates are also strongly related to family type, but whereas those from two parent families continue to have an advantage over single mother families, the gap generally shrunk in the 1990’s, especially where the mother had university level schooling. We also find a number of interesting trends by province.