Self-Efficacy for Independent Living in Retirement
A person's ability to live independently plays an important role in their quality of life. Variables such as perceived health, functional status, retirement preparedness, social support, and leisure activities are considered to play pivotal roles in the belief one can live independently. Therefore, self-efficacy towards living independently in the retirement phase of life will be impacted by the elements that set the framework for a rewarding life. The present paper reviews social cognitive theory, the construct of self efficacy as well as current research in the area of retirement and how the two are related. The review concludes with a proposal of two measurements designed to study self efficacy for independent living of those 65 years old and older for future research. The two independent constructs of self-efficacy and self-esteem will be compared and contrasted. The proposed measurements utilize five constructs; perceived health, functional status, retirement preparedness, social support, and leisure activities. The first instrument aims to measure peoples' self-efficacy towards independent living. The second instrument is intended to measure a caregiver or spouse's evaluation of that person's ability to live independently. Finally the review proposes a comparative analysis would be between the instruments and convergent validity between self-efficacy and self esteem assessed as well as a test of the predictive nature of self-efficacy for life satisfaction to reinforce the validity of the two measures to reduce error.
Geropsychology, Self-efficacy; Aging -- Psychological aspects; Retirement -- Social aspects; Social cognitive theory; Quality of life -- Evaluation.
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