Academic Self-Efficacy, Coping, and Academic Performance in College

This study serves as a pilot study for a possible future study including the same variables. The purpose of the pilot study was to find a relationship in the college academic setting between academic self-efficacy, stress coping skills, and academic performance. Sixty-six undergraduate students, 17 male and 49 female, from a university in northwestern United States participated in the study. Stress was measured using the COPE Inventory (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). Self-efficacy was measured using the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001). Academic performance was measured using the participants’ college GPA. Academic Self-Efficacy and the Planning subscale of the COPE Inventory were positively correlated with GPA (r = .49, p < .01 and r = .32, p < .05). Academic self-efficacy was positively correlated with the COPE Inventory subscales Positive Reinterpretation and Growth (r = .36, p r = .35, p < .01), Acceptance (r = .46, p < .01), and Planning (r = .25, p < .05). Academic self-efficacy was negatively correlated with the COPE Inventory subscale Substance Use (r = -.32 at p < 0.1).