THE IMPACT OF SELF-ESTEEM AND LIFE SATISFACTION ON SELF-EFFICACY AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS IN FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN

MUNAZZA RASOOL , AMINA NOOR , WAJIHA NASIR

The paper presents the connections between self-esteem, life satisfaction, and self-efficacy among college students. Considering that the levels of stress and life satisfaction decrease with the difficulties that students have to address, the study examined the impact of self-esteem and life satisfaction on self-efficacy, which is the key to personal and academic achievement. The study utilized a sample of 270 college students of Faisalabad to measure self-esteem, life satisfaction and self-efficacy using standardized scales. The results showed that the relationship between self-esteem and self-efficacy is significant (r = -0.24, p < 0.01), meaning that the low self-esteem correlates with low self-efficacy. Conversely, self-efficacy was positively associated with life satisfaction (r = 0.25, p < 0.01), which implied that increased life satisfaction is a factor that leads to more confidence in the abilities of a person. Besides, life satisfaction was correlated with self esteem in a negative manner (r = -0.20, p < 0.01) suggesting that high self esteem is not necessarily associated with high life satisfaction perhaps because of expectations and pressures. These findings are in line with the Social Cognitive Theory of Bandura (1997), who points out the significance of positive self-beliefs and emotional well-being on the determination of self-efficacy. The paper has shown the importance of promoting self-esteem and life satisfaction to improve self-efficacy, especially in educational institutions, and the future research should investigate the mechanisms and cultural factors behind these relationships.