Mastery of negative affect: a hierarchical model of emotional self-efficacy beliefs

Abstract

Building on previous studies that formulated measures for assessing self-efficacy beliefs regarding the management of anger/irritation and despondency/sadness, we developed 3 new scales to assess perceived self-efficacy in managing fear, shame/embarrassment, and guilt. In Study 1, the internal and construct validity of the 5 aforementioned measures were assessed in a sample of 403 Italian young adults. Study 2 was designed to examine the comparability of the aforementioned measures across Italy and the United States and involved the previous sample and a sample of 380 U.S college students. The best fitting model overall, across the sexes and across countries, had the following characteristics: (a) the 5 types of self-efficacy loaded separately on first-order factors; (b) self-efficacy in managing anger/irritation and despondency/sadness loaded on one second-order factor, and self-efficacy in managing shame/embarrassment, and guilt loaded on another; (c) self-efficacy in managing fear and the 2 second-order factors loaded on a common higher order factor. The various modes of emotional self-efficacy correlated in conceptually coherent ways to measures of emotional stability, irritability, depression, shyness, fearful affect, and need for reparation.