An investigation of the relationship between perceived self -efficacy and performance of U.S. Army combat lifesaver students

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the relationship between perceived self-efficacy and performance of United States Army combat lifesaver (CLS) students on the CLS tasks. Participants consisted of a purposeful sample of CLS students at the Fort Bragg, North Carolina Medical Simulation Training Center (MSTC). The theoretical framework for this study was derived from Bandura's social cognitive theory about perceived self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977). Perceived self-efficacy was measured by a researcher-modified post-course survey. Performance was based on (a) a written examination, (b) performance on a hands-on test, and (c) performance on the combat lane validation. The perceived self-efficacy scores and the performance measures results were then statistically analyzed. The statistical results support the null hypotheses.