Irrational Thinking and Stress among Adolescents: The Role of Self-Efficacy

Everyone on the planet knows what stress means. The purpose of this related study was to explore the relationship between adolescents' perceptions of their own worth and their acceptance of irrational thinkings and stress. 310 high school students in the Baghdad area participated in the study and provided data for this analysis. There were 177 females (57.1% of the sample) and 133 males (42.9% of the sample). The mean age of participants was 16.43 (SD = 1.20) years. We collected information from the Rosenberg Self-Efficacy Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Adolescent Irrational Thinking Scale. The data were tested using Bootstrap method, ordinary least squares regression, Pearson correlation analysis and descriptive statistics. The results show that self-efficacy has a strong mediating effect between irrational thinking and feelings of stress. Previous research findings are considered and recommendations are made for future mental health researchers and practitioners.