Self-efficacy and health behaviour: Some implications for medical anthropology

Abstract

The study of personality characteristics and behaviours related to human health has become a key area of research within contemporary health psychology. Personality variable that has attracted a growing interest of health psychologists is the concept of self-efficacy developed by Albert Bandura within his highly influential social-cognitive or social learning theory of human behaviour. Defined generally as the individual’s belief that one will be able to carry out one’s plans and intentions successfully or to perform certain behaviours necessary to attain desired goals or anticipated outcomes, selfefficacy is one of the key factors in the exercise of personal control, including a control over the state of one’s own health. Starting from this theoretical framework, the main purpose of this article is to provide at first a concise overview of the theory of selfefficacy, and then to consider its relationship with the various forms or patterns of behaviours related to health, as well as to suggest some possible implications of this theory for medical anthropology – especially for its applied areas that are focused on the health education, health promotion, and health protection.