The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy Perceptions in the Relationship Between Psychological Resilience and Health Anxiety of Special Education Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of self-efficacy perceptions in the relationship between psychological resilience levels and health anxiety among special education teachers. It is assumed that the psychosocial factors that teachers encounter in their professional lives may influence their health anxiety levels. In this context, it is suggested that psychological resilience may act as a health anxiety reducing factor and that self-efficacy perceptions may be an important mediating variable in this relationship. The present study constitutes a quantitative research project, which was conducted using a crosssectional survey model. The participants of the study consisted of teachers working in the field of special education throughout Turkiye, with the ages of these participants ranging between 25 and 55 years, and with a mean age of X-= 36.4 and a standard deviation of SD = 6.8. Participants were determined by means of a simple random sampling method. The collection of data was undertaken using the Psychological Resilience Scale (PRS), the Self-Efficacy Perception Scale (SEQ), and the Health Anxiety Scale (HAS). The analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 29.0 and PROCESS Macro (Model 4), with the implementation of descriptive statistics, reliability analysis (Cronbach's Alpha), correlation analysis, and mediation analysis. The findings indicated that psychological resilience exerted a negative and significant influence on health anxiety (B =-8.779, p < 0.001). Additionally, psychological resilience demonstrated an insignificant effect on self-efficacy perception (B = 4.205, p = 0.523). However, the study found that self-efficacy perception had a negative and significant effect on health anxiety (B =-0.094, p < 0.001). The mediation analysis results indicated that self-efficacy perception did not play a statistically significant mediating role in the relationship between psychological resilience and health anxiety (B =-0.398, 95% CI:-1.596 to 0.879). The findings of the study demonstrate that psychological resilience exerts a direct effect in reducing health anxiety; however, self-efficacy perception does not function as a mediating factor in this relationship. Consequently, it can be posited that psychological resilience development programmes are imperative for teachers working in the domain of special education to mitigate health anxiety. Specifically, the implementation of psychosocial support programmes and professional development training for teachers is advocated. Future studies should examine analogous relationships in different occupational groups and investigate the causal relationships between variables in greater detail using longitudinal studies.