Who Did What to Whom and How: A Scoping Review of Interventions to Promote Children's Self-Efficacy in Mainland China

Self-efficacy refers to an individual's judgement, belief and perception of their capability to accomplish specific tasks, which is crucial for children's mental well-being. The primary objective of this scoping review was to systematically examine intervention studies aimed at enhancing children's self-efficacy in Mainland China, intending to inform social work practices in child services. We conducted a comprehensive search of articles in Web of Science and CNKI to review empirical intervention studies published before March 2022 in either Chinese or English. The selection criteria included all empirical intervention studies focused on improving self-efficacy in children in Mainland China. A total of 17 studies were identified and included in the review. Among these, six studies focused on general self-efficacy, while the remaining 11 examined domain-specific self-efficacy. Seven studies provided compensatory interventions to children facing adversity, five studies implemented preventive services, and another five offered developmental services to children in regular circumstances. Fourteen programmes exclusively served children, while three studies involved parents. Notably, most of the included interventions were facilitated by research teams from universities, with only one led by a social work department. Education modalities and comprehensive interventions were commonly used and found to be effective. The current state of intervention studies underscores the need for programmes that utilize effective strategies and approaches to enhance children's self-efficacy. Social workers are encouraged to play both direct and indirect roles in services aimed at improving children's self-efficacy.