Does the Stage of University Education Differentiate Midwifery Students in Terms of Their Behaviors in Certain Situations and Sense of Self-Efficacy?

Abstract

Midwifery students’ behaviors in relevant spheres of their lives, as well as their sense of self-efficacy, can affect the process of training in the midwifery profession. The aim of the study was to determine the behaviors of students in Poland, assessed in a situational context, as well as their sense of self-efficacy in correlation with these behaviors at different levels of education in the midwifery profession. The study group included first- and third-year bachelor’s degree (BS) midwifery students, as well as master’s degree (MS) midwifery students. The survey was conducted on 1031 students. The ‘Inventory for Personality Assessment in Situations’ (IPS) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) were used in the study. The largest group of students that were categorized as having problematic profiles was observed in the social-communicative domain, which indicates the necessity of introducing corrective and therapeutic actions concerning their interpersonal relations. The leading trait in the social-communicative domain among the BS students was sensitivity to frustration. The lowest self-confidence was observed among the third-year BS students. The average result of generalized self-efficacy among all the respondents was M = 28.36 (SD = 4.41), which indicates the average level of the obtained results. Students at different stages of midwifery programs demonstrate different behaviors when assessed in the situational context.