The relationship between self-efficacy and health-related quality of life in Multiple Sclerosis patients

Background and Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) has a broad spectrum of physical, social and psychological effects and significant impact on quality of life (QoL). Several studies has showed the importance of self-efficacy as a predictor of QoL in patients with MS. This study aimed at evaluating the robustness of the relationship between self-efficacy and QoL. Specifically, it aimed to test whether such a relationship will vanish under the given conditions using a general measure of self-efficacy and controlling for level of impairment defined as a broad construct dealing with physical, social and working changes due to the illness condition. Methods: One hundred and fifty five participants responded to a questionnaire, including QoL and general self-efficacy measures, sociodemographic and clinical variables. Two nested structural equation models that differ for the presence or absence of the path connecting self-efficacy and QoL were employed. Results and Conclusions: The hypothesis of the vanishing of the relationship between self-efficacy and QoL was rejected. The study results support the genuineness of this relationship and emphasize the importance of interventions promoting self-efficacy to improve QoL in chronic diseases such as MS. From a methodological perspective this study is an example of the usefulness of formative indicators in QoL studies and is advanced as an important contribution to the person-centered healthcare literature.