The Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Recognizing and Practicing Healthy Relationship and Consensual Behaviors

Sexual assault and relationship violence are a public health issue on college campuses. In order to prevent gender-based violence, it is important to understand the multiple protective factors that could be utilized in university prevention programming. Self-efficacy has not been thoroughly explored as a factor that could influence whether people recognize healthy romantic and sex relationship behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine whether self-efficacy has a significant relationship with recognizing consent and healthy relationships and whether it impacts a person’s likelihood to practice active consent. The results of this study demonstrated that self-efficacy has a significant relationship with a person’s confidence in their ability to recognize consent behaviors, practice consent behaviors, and recognize when they are in a healthy relationship. Future research should further explore how self-efficacy can be a protective factor in preventing sex and relationship violence.