SELF-CONFIDENCE DECREASES STRESS LEVELS AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE
SELF-CONFIDENCE DECREASES STRESS LEVELS AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE

Summary/Abstract: Mental disorders are an important indicator for the quality of public health. Data from the second nationally representative epidemiological survey of the most common mental disorders in Bulgaria EPIBUL-2 shows that the risk to develop anxiety or depression is three times higher among young people in the age group 18-36 in comparison to the people in the age group above 65 years of the Bulgarian population (NCPHA, 2017b). Contemporary young people have been found to experience higher levels of stress in comparison to previous generations (Twenge, 2006). It is essential to find out the predictors of stress as it is one of the most common reasons causing depressive symptoms in modern society (Cohen et al., 1997). Previous research shows that self-confidence supports individuals in coping with stress in everyday life while the perception of personal inefficacy is related to depressive episodes (Bandura et al., 1999). The aim of the present work is to study the impact of self-confidence consisting of self-competence and self-liking on perceived stress levels in a sample of young people in Bulgaria. Regression analysis were performed to test the relationship between the two variables. The scale "Self-confidence" consisting of the subscales "Self-competence" and "Self-liking" is used for the first time on a sample of Bulgarian respondents, so its psychometric characteristics will be presented in the article. Results indicate that self-competence and self-efficacy are statistically significant predictors of the levels of perceived stress among young people, explaining a significant percentage of the variation of the dependent variable. The more confident young people feel in their capabilities, the better they cope with stress in everyday life.

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