Iranian Journal of Medical Education

Introduction: Academic self-efficacy refers to learners’ belief in their abilities in academic process, whose realization is affected by many factors. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between academic self-efficacy and perceived stress, coping strategies and perceived social support among the students of University of Guilan. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was performed on all students of faculty of humanities in University of Guilan in 2014-15 academic years. The sample consisted of 335 students who were selected through cluster sampling. Data collection tools were Owen & Froman’s Academic Self-efficacy Questionnaire, Cohen Perceived Stress Scale, Endler & Parker’s Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations and Vaux et al Perceived Social Support Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics tests, Pearson Correlation coefficient, and Multiple Linear Regression. Results: The Pearson Correlation showed a significant positive correlation (P<0.01) between academic self-efficacy and perceived social support (r=0.518) and problem-oriented coping strategies (r=0.421). It also showed a significant negative correlation (P<0.01) between academic self-efficacy and perceived stress (r=-0.574), emotion-oriented coping (r=-0.364) and avoidance-oriented coping (r=-0.364). Stepwise regression analysis indicated that the predictor variables such as perceived stress, perceived social support and problem-oriented coping were able to significantly explain 0.39 of academic self-efficacy variance among the students. Conclusion: The findings support the importance of perceived stress, perceived social support and problem-oriented coping in predicting academic self-efficacy of students. Therefore, training courses seem to be useful in developing self-efficacy beliefs and stress management.