I can, I do, I am: The narrative differentiation of self-efficacy and other self-evaluations while adapting to bereavement

Research has established a strong link between self-efficacy and psychological health, particularly during times of crisis. Theory on self-efficacy posits a difference between the ability to do something and actually doing it. In this study, personal narratives of people whose spouses had died during midlife were coded by distinguishing self-evaluations of abilities ("what I can do or be") from self-evaluations of actual behaviors ("what I do") and characteristics ("what I am"). The narratives came from inter-views at 6 months post-loss. The narrative self-evaluation variables were compared to separate clinical interview measures of grief at 6, 14, and 25 months post-loss. As predicted, narrative descriptions of self-efficacy (i.e., overt evaluations of one's abilities) predicted less grief over time, even when controlling for perceptions of actually doing well and being good. Furthermore, self-efficacy appeared to neutralize the ill effects of negatively evaluating one's behaviors but not one's characteristics. Findings are interpreted in terms of identity construction and personal meaning making during times of major life change, highlighting self-efficacy's distinct role in both narrative thinking and psychological adaptation. (C) 2001 Academic Press.