I Shall Not Be Prey: Instilling Perceived Self-Efficacy Through Personal
Security Training
Abstract
The world can be a dangerous place as evidenced by the 2015 riots in
Baltimore, Maryland and the record high numbers of murder that occurred
during those riots. People’s fear of being the prey of a violent
criminal is very real and it often results in people retreating from
society and avoiding situations that are perceived as dangerous. An
examination of literature on perceived self-efficacy, a confident belief
in one’s own ability to cope with a fearful situation, shows that
through personal security and self-defense training that is designed for
the particular student, perceived self-efficacy can be achieved.
Students having achieved that sense are less prone to suffer from
invasive negative thoughts, victimization, and avoidance behaviors that
pull them out of living normal lives.