A specific application of two psychological measures on female urinary incontinence: perceived negative affective self-efficacy scale and stress psychological measure. Urogynaecologia International Journal

Aim of this paper was to examine the relationship between stress and perceived self-efficacy in 60 female patients suffering from urinary incontinence (UI). Stress disorders were assessed with a standardized questionnaire validated in three languages (French, English, Italian) while self-efficacy was evaluated with a 8-item scale developed by Caprara et al.1 Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson's correlation were run for statistic assessment. The obtained data suggested that lifestyle and emotional self-efficacy were significantly associated. Severity of incontinence and length of the pathology are found to be the most significant factors interfering with Quality of life (QoL). They weaken the personality and reduce the capability to face the daily problems. Negative correlations between the two instruments were found. The measures represent a useful tool to set the impact of urinary incontinence on QoL.