Perceived self-efficacy and headache-related disability

Background.-Headache-specific self-efficacy refers to patients' confidence that they can take actions that prevent headache episodes or manage headach e-related pain and disability. According to social cognitive theory, percep tions of self-efficacy influence an individual's adaptation to persistent h eadaches by influencing cognitive, affective, and physiological responses t o headache episodes as well as the initiation and persistence of efforts to prevent headache episodes. Objective.-The objective of the present study was to construct and validate a brief measure of headache specific self-efficacy and to examine the rela tionship between self-efficacy and headache-related disability. Methods.-A sample of 329 patients seeking treatment for benign headache dis orders completed the Headache Management Self-Efficacy Scale and measures o f headache-specific locus of control, coping, psychological distress, and h eadache-related disability. A subset of 262 patients also completed 4 weeks of daily headache recordings. Results.-As predicted, patients who were confident they could prevent and m anage their headaches also believed that the factors influencing their head aches were potentially within their control. In addition, self-efficacy sco res were positively associated with the use of positive psychological copin g strategies to both prevent and manage headache episodes and negatively as sociated with anxiety. Multiple regression analyses revealed that headache severity, locus-of-control beliefs, and self-efficacy beliefs each explaine d independent variance in headache-related disability.