A nursing theorist and the author of the self-efficacy theory, Barbara Resnick, was born in 1957. She is an Associate Professor working for the University of Maryland School of Nursing and coordinating the Adult / Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Program (“Dr. Barbara Resnick—Eminent nurse,” 2017). Currently, her clinical practice is performed at Roland Park Place. Resnick published more than 200 scholarly articles and researched such nursing areas as gerontology, therapeutics, advanced practice nursing, et cetera. There are various honors given to this theorist, including Honorary Doctor of Science from State University of New York and an inductee into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame (“Dr. Barbara Resnick,” 2017). The theoretical discoveries of Resnick were largely affected by Bandura’s assumptions and social cognitive theory.

Philosophical Underpinnings

Two important underpinnings compose the basis for the theory of self-efficacy elaborated by Resnick. According to the definition of Bandura, self-efficacy determines the present behavior in combination with the environment, previous behavior, and other personality characteristics (Akhu-Zaheya, Gharaibeh, & Alostaz, 2013). In his concept of expectations, Bandura distinguishes between the expectation of effectiveness (efficacy expectation) and the expectation of results (outcome expectation) (Chao, Scherer, Wu, Lucke, & Montgomery, 2013). However, self-efficacy is not the same as expectations about the results or consequences of one’s actions. Instead, it may be understood as a person’s confidence that he or she can carry out specific actions, while the assumptions about the result refer to what he or she thinks about the possible consequences of his activities (Hoffman, 2013). In other words, self-efficacy is an assessment of one’s own ability to cope with certain specific tasks in a particular situation.

The second philosophical consideration is associated with the socio-cognitive theory of personality and regulation developed by Bandura. According to the mentioned theorist, there is no more essential mechanism of subjectivity than beliefs in one’s effectiveness. The socio-cognitive theory refers to personality, as stated by Stacey, James, Chapman, Courneya, and Lubans (2015). Even though it is often attributed to behaviorist theories of personality, it offers a fundamentally different idea. It emphasizes the collaborative interaction of the environment, behavior, and personal factors, in which a special place is given to cognitive processes that provide mental self-control and self-efficacy of an individual (Young, Plotnikoff, Collins, Callister, & Morgan, 2014). They influence the personality in the same way as a person influences the environment, and they shape each other (Young et al., 2014). This continuous interaction of forces creates a certain balance between freedom and determinism. Based on the adaptation of the presented theoretical considerations, Resnick developed her theory.

Main Concepts of the Theory

On-time delivery!

Get your 100% customized paperdone in as little as 1 hour

Let’s start

The key concepts of Resnick’s theory correspond to those of the traditional nursing care metaparigms that consist of the following elements: a person, nursing, health, and environment. In the identified theory, a person is determined as an individual with peculiar needs and expectations, which are largely related to his or her behavioral patterns (Sitzmann & Yeo, 2013). The concept of health is understood as the state of a person that can be described as overall well-being, both physical and psychological (Smith & Liehr, 2018). It is important to point out the fact that the role of nursing in this theory is to help patients in improving self-efficacy through education and increased awareness of their own health needs (Christian & Krumwiede, 2013). Last but not least, the environment plays a vital role in one’s self-efficacy. Speaking more precisely, one may state that the environment forms a person, while the latter also affects the former.

Model

In her theory, Resnick adapted Bandura’s ideas and implemented them in adult care. There are three major concepts that she introduced in nursing practice: verbal encouragement, role-modeling also known as self-modeling, and physiological sensations. This theory is also supported by the so-called function-focused care that implies greater engagement of patients using adequate physical exercising (Galik, Resnick, Hammersla, & Brightwater, 2013; Resnick, Galik, & Boltz, 2013). For example, one of the recent studies illustrates