A positive psychology perspective on self-efficacy and work engagement among psychiatric hospital staff in Japan: A cross-sectional study.

Sustaining work engagement among psychiatric hospital staff is important for staff well-being and the quality and continuity of mental health care, yet modifiable personal resources in this setting remain understudied. Guided by the Job Demands-Resources model and positive psychology, we examined whether general self-efficacy was associated with work engagement in psychiatric hospital staff in Japan and whether this association differed across occupation, managerial position, and age. In a cross-sectional survey of 199 employees, work engagement was assessed using the Japanese Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-J-17) and self-efficacy using the Japanese General Self-Efficacy Scale (J-GSES). Linear regression models estimated the association between self-efficacy and engagement, adjusting for gender, age group, managerial position, employment status, and occupation; subgroup consistency was evaluated using stratified analyses and interaction terms. Higher self-efficacy was associated with higher work engagement (B = 0.93, 95% CI 0.42-1.44, p < 0.001). The association appeared similar across occupational categories, managerial levels, and age groups (all interaction p ≥ 0.43). In this single-site sample, general self-efficacy was positively associated with work engagement. Causal inference is not possible, and longitudinal and intervention studies are needed.