Social and Health-Related Self-Regulation Actions During the Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Self-efficacy is a life necessity for people, also related to social learning theory and in correspondence with the knowledge that a person has about self-abilities to reach goals and achieve objectives.

Objective: To assess social and health-related self-regulation in different age groups during times of pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, non-experimental study was carried out. The data were obtained from January to March 2020. The work was developed with a sample of 1239 participants, divided into four groups: 191 adolescents, 310 young people, 599 adults and 139 older adults. The general self-efficacy scale was used.

Results: The level of self-efficacy in the Peruvian population of Arequipa was average with a tendency towards being high. In the Argentinean group, 53.9% were fairly confident of being able to find the means and ways to achieve their goals. Both were pretty similar, a reason why it can be affirmed that older adults feel themselves capable of carrying out their daily activities, as well as accomplishing their goals and regulations without major complications.

Conclusion: Social and health self-regulation, known as self-efficacy, is evidenced to be conditioned by sociocultural and educational factors, not depending on age or sex only. In general, people were perceived to have a good disposition to consider themselves capable of achieving their individual purposes.