Self-Care, Coping Self-Efficacy and Stress Among Graduate Students in the Helping Professions

Abstract

Self-care has grown in popularity over the decades and has been seen as a successful means in mitigating the effects of stress, particularly among trainees in the helping professions. However, a paucity of research exists examining the relationship among self-care and related variables. The aim of the present study was to further explore the impact of self-care and coping self-efficacy on stress among counseling psychology and clinical psychology graduate trainees. Specifically, this study examined the relationship between self-care utilization, coping self-efficacy, and perceived stress, as well as self-care utilization by years in training program, self-care utilization by participation in a mentoring program, and unique impact of self-care utilization and coping self-efficacy on perceived stress. The current study surveyed 168 students enrolled in graduate training programs in counseling and clinical psychology. The primary variables of interest (i.e., self-care utilization, coping self-efficacy, and perceived stress) demonstrated significant relationships confirming the first three hypotheses. Participants who reported higher levels of self-care utilization reported significantly lower levels of perceived stress r = - .40, participants who reported higher levels of coping self-efficacy reported significantly lower levels of perceived stress r = -.49, and a significant positive relationship was found between self-care utilization and coping self-efficacy r = .63. Individuals reporting high levels of self-care utilization also reported high levels of coping self-efficacy. No relationship was found between length in program and the primary variables of interest (i.e., self-care, coping self-efficacy and perceived stress). There was also no relationship found between participation in mentoring programs and the primary variables of interest (i.e., self-care, coping self-efficacy, and stress). Findings of the current study suggests coping self-efficacy has a larger unique effect than self-care utilization on perceived stress.