The role of self-efficacy beliefs in dealing with misinformation among adolescents
Open accessAbstract
The present study aims to understand the processes involved in misinformation among adolescents by examining the role of self-efficacy beliefs in dealing with misleading news. Specifically, we argue that the perceived capability to analyze and reflect critically on the reliability of online information sources should be stayed with the perceived self-regulatory capability to resist online social pressures to share unverifiable news. Moreover, we posited that specific online self-efficacies beliefs can be promoted by the capabilities related to regulating emotions and reflecting on new problems. In a sample of 273, we tested a path analysis model. The results attest that self-efficacy beliefs in dealing with online misinformation refer to specific capabilities: an active one, related to checking the sources of the news in order to validate their content, and an inhibitory one, related to the capability to refrain from sharing the news that seems unreliable. Moreover, self-efficacy beliefs in self-control during online interaction spreading misleading news are supported by cognitive reflective capability and self-efficacy in regulating negative emotion. The relationship between active self-efficacy related to fact-checking and sharing misleading news is not significant. The role of regulation in sharing misinformation during activated online dynamics is discussed.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Adolescents with strong assertiveness skills are less likely to become victims of online grooming.
“This is consistent with the findings of Paciello et al. (2023), who emphasized that adolescents with strong assertiveness skills are less likely to become victims of online grooming.”
From Surfing Online Safety: Assertiveness and Parental Involvement in Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Cyber Grooming (2025) · cites this paper as Paciello et al., 2023
The Introduction and Discussion address adolescents’ self-efficacy in resisting the impulse to share misinformation, not assertiveness or victimization. Searches for online grooming and assertiveness found no passage linking those skills to a lower risk of grooming. (LLM, conf=0.77)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change
Bandura, A. (1977) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.84.2.191 · Cited by 43,925 · see citing works
<b>lavaan</b> : An <i>R</i> Package for Structural Equation Modeling
Rosseel, Y. (2012) · Journal of Statistical Software · doi:10.18637/jss.v048.i02 · Cited by 27,955 · see citing works
Measures of Multivariate Skewness and Kurtosis with Applications
Mardia, K. V. (1970) · Biometrika · doi:10.1093/biomet/57.3.519 · Cited by 4,859 · see citing works
psych: Procedures for Personality and Psychological Research
Revelle, W. (2017) · Cited by 3,439 · see citing works
Chiu, C., Hsu, M., & Wang, E. T. G. (2006) · Decision Support Systems · doi:10.1016/j.dss.2006.04.001 · Cited by 3,198 · see citing works
Multifaceted Impact of Self-Efficacy Beliefs on Academic Functioning
Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (1996) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01791.x · Cited by 1,866 · see citing works
Age differences in resistance to peer influence.
Steinberg, L. D., & Monahan, K. C. (2007) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1531 · Cited by 1,625 · see citing works
Hsu, M., Ju, T., Yen, C., & Chang, C. (2006) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2006.09.003 · Cited by 1,521 · see citing works
Pennycook, G., & Rand, D. G. (2021) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2021.02.007 · Cited by 1,360 · see citing works
Role of Affective Self-Regulatory Efficacy in Diverse Spheres of Psychosocial Functioning
Bandura, A., Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Gerbino, M., & Pastorelli, C. (2003) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00567 · Cited by 1,092 · see citing works
Multifaceted impact of self-efficacy beliefs on academic functioning
Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (1996) · Child Development · doi:10.2307/1131888 · Cited by 1,080 · see citing works
Self-efficacy pathways to childhood depression.
Bandura, A., Pastorelli, C., Barbaranelli, C., & Caprara, G. V. (1999) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.76.2.258 · Cited by 856 · see citing works
Self-efficacy pathways to childhood depression
Bandura, A., Pastorelli, C., Barbaranelli, C., & Caprara, G. V. (1999) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.76.2.258 · Cited by 856 · see citing works
Beyens, I., Frison, E., & Eggermont, S. (2016) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.083 · Cited by 847 · see citing works
Sociocognitive self-regulatory mechanisms governing transgressive behavior.
Bandura, A., Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Pastorelli, C., & Regalia, C. (2001) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.1.125 · Cited by 721 · see citing works
Investigating an alternate form of the cognitive reflection test
Thomson, K. S., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2016) · Judgment and Decision Making · doi:10.1017/s1930297500007622 · Cited by 612 · see citing works
Assessing regulatory emotional self-efficacy in three countries.
Caprara, G. V., Giunta, L. D., Eisenberg, N., Gerbino, M., Pastorelli, C., & Tramontano, C. (2008) · Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1037/1040-3590.20.3.227 · Cited by 455 · see citing works
Zhang, X., Liu, S., Deng, Z., & Xing, C. (2017) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.06.028 · Cited by 357 · see citing works
Caprara, G. V., Steca, P., Gerbino, M., Paciello, M., & Vecchio, G. M. (2006) · Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale · doi:10.1017/s1121189x00002013 · Cited by 313 · see citing works
Self-citationKhan, M. L., & Idris, I. K. (2019) · Behaviour and Information Technology · doi:10.1080/0144929x.2019.1578828 · Cited by 304 · see citing works
Social media self-efficacy and information evaluation online
Hocevar, K. P., Flanagin, A. J., & Metzger, M. J. (2014) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.07.020 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Cognitive reflection vs. calculation in decision making
Sinayev, A., & Peters, E. M. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00532 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
Modeling multiple response processes in judgment and choice.
Böckenholt, U. (2012) · Psychological Methods · doi:10.1037/a0028111 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Teens’ Motivations to Spread Fake News on WhatsApp
Herrero-Diz, P., Jiménez, J. C., & de Cózar, S. R. (2020) · Social Media + Society · doi:10.1177/2056305120942879 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Detecting fake news on Facebook: The role of emotional intelligence
Preston, S., Anderson, A., Robertson, D. J., Shephard, M. P., & Huhe, N. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0246757 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Paciello, M., Tramontano, C., Nocentini, A., Fida, R., & Menesini, E. (2019) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2019.09.024 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Self-citationPapapicco, C., Lamanna, I., & D’Errico, F. (2022) · Multimodal Technologies and Interaction · doi:10.3390/mti6030020 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Self-citationJournalism, „Fake News“ and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training
Grmuša, T. (2020) · Mostariensia · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Notley, T., & Dezuanni, M. (2019) · Media, Culture & Society · doi:10.1177/0163443718813470 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Kitsantas, A., Baylor, A. L., & Hiller, S. E. (2019) · Cognitive Systems Research · doi:10.1016/j.cogsys.2019.09.003 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Herrero-Diz, P., Jiménez, J. C., & de Cózar, S. R. (2021) · Culture and Education · doi:10.1080/11356405.2020.1859739 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Handbook of moral behavior and development, Vol. 1: Theory; Vol. 2: Research; Vol. 3: Application.
Kurtines, W. M., & Gewirtz, J. L. (1991) · Cited by 32 · see citing works
D’Errico, F., Cicirelli, P. G., Corbelli, G., & Paciello, M. (2023) · Social Psychology of Education · doi:10.1007/s11218-023-09777-z · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Self-citationLitovsky, Y. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0251355 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
3 of the 37 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Bandura A. (1992). “ Exercise of personal agency through the self-efficacy mechanism,” in Self-efficacy: thought control of action, vol. 1, 3– 37.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Perceptions of Health Misinformation on Social Media: Cross-Sectional Survey Study
Gaysynsky, A., Senft, N., Heley, K. M., & Chou, W. S. (2024) · JMIR Infodemiology · doi:10.2196/51127 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Kops, M., Schittenhelm, C., & Wachs, S. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2025.108650 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
From Adolescents' Eyes: Assessing an Indicator-Based Intervention to Combat Misinformation on TikTok
Hartwig, K., Biselli, T., Schneider, F., & Reuter, C. (2024) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3613904.3642264 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Zhang, Z., & Cheng, Z. (2024) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104215 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Siani, A., Joseph, M., & Dacin, C. (2024) · Discover Education · doi:10.1007/s44217-024-00194-8 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Raimondi, G., Dawe, J., Alivernini, F., Manganelli, S., Diotaiuti, P., Mandolesi, L., Zacchilli, M., Lucidi, F., & Cavicchiolo, E. (2025) · Pediatric Reports · doi:10.3390/pediatric17020039 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Analytic adolescents prevail over fake news – A large-scale preregistered study
Faragó, L., Orosz, G., Paskuj, B., & Krekó, P. (2024) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2024.112747 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Learning to Evaluate (Mis)information in an Online Game: Strategies Matter!
Barzilai, S., & Stadtler, M. (2024) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105210 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Jie, Z., & Kim, K. T. (2025) · Journal of Curriculum and Teaching · doi:10.5430/jct.v14n1p19 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Wellness Misinformation on Social Media: A Systematic Review Using Social Cognitive Theory
Li, R., & Ye, H. (2025) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2025.2555614 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Impact of Cybersecurity Self-Efficacy on Digital Economic Behaviors Among Older Adults
Kim, S. (2025) · INQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing · doi:10.1177/00469580251370933 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Balčytienė, A. (2025) · Media and Communication · doi:10.17645/mac.9038 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Corbelli, G., Cicirelli, P. G., D’Errico, F., & Paciello, M. (2023) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci12090470 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-citationHuang, Y., Leng, X., & Tian, Z. (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1709812 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Sheen, F., Mullarkey, B., Witcomb, G. L., Opitz, M., Maloney, E., Baldoza, S. M., & White, H. J. (2025) · Child and Adolescent Mental Health · doi:10.1111/camh.70047 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Wachs, S., Kops, M., Mateos‐Pérez, E., & Gámez‐Guadix, M. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100671 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Hoffner, C. A., Salomi, V., Apkhazishvili, S., & Edu, S. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2025.108844 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Hanifah, R., & Wigati, M. (2025) · Bulletin of Counseling and Psychotherapy · doi:10.51214/002025071584000 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
A human-centric approach to countering disinformation
Balčytienė, A., Kasparaitė, R., & Lenčiauskienė, P. (2024) · Observatorio (OBS*) · doi:10.15847/obsobs18520242442 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The Role of Self‐Efficacy, Critical Thinking, and Media Literacy in Human Deepfake Video Detection
Chen, C., & Goh, D. H. (2025) · Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology · doi:10.1002/pra2.1310 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
A playbook for mapping adolescent interactions with misinformation to perceptions of online harm
Swamy, G. S., Ames, M. G., & Salehi, N. (2024) · Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review · doi:10.37016/mr-2020-161 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Humor in Social Media Health Communication: A Systematic Review of Strategic Uses and Effects
Hu, Y. M., Ngai, C. S. B., & Koon, A. C. (2026) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs16040509 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Askarian, M., Ahmadkhani, A., Mousavi, S., Muhajarine, N., Sadeghi, A., Zarei, S., Hatam, N., & Taherifard, E. (2025) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-025-24161-6 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Sadeghi, R., Beigzadeh, A., Bordbar, S., & Yusefi, A. R. (2025) · Discover Education · doi:10.1007/s44217-025-01077-2 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Use of health information from social media and health self-efficacy: a cross-sectional study
Liu, X., Rai, V. T., & Yin, Y. (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1821668 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Rahmi, U. Q., Rahmat, M., & Firmansyah, M. I. (2026) · POTENSIA Jurnal Kependidikan Islam · doi:10.24014/potensia.v12i1.39705 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Issa, N., Nemer, M., & Abu-Rmeileh, N. M. E. (2024) · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · doi:10.1080/02673843.2024.2420673 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Ranjith, K. S., Devendran, A., Devi, N., Kamathe, R. S., Singh, P., & Sreetharan, V. (2025) · International Journal of Environmental Sciences · doi:10.64252/jy5q7097
Kops, M., Schittenhelm, C., D'Errico, F., & Wachs, S. (2026) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2026.100991
Self-citationAlgorithmic aesthetics and wellness misinformation: how adults interpret and respond to social media
Ye, H., Rashid, S. M., & Ahmad, N. (2026) · SN Social Sciences · doi:10.1007/s43545-026-01426-4
Dynamics and contours of online disinformation based on perspectives from Nigerian internet users
Ogbodo, J. N., Orji-Egwu, A. O., Njoku, E. O., & Ngwu, O. L. (2026) · Discover Global Society · doi:10.1007/s44282-026-00392-9
Cicirelli, P. G., Sportelli, C., Corbelli, G., Paciello, M., & D’Errico, F. (2026) · Social Influence · doi:10.1080/15534510.2026.2664344
Self-citationTang, W. K.-W., Lau, C., & Zhang, A. (2026) · Journalism and Media · doi:10.3390/journalmedia7020109
Chen, L., Li, H., Chua, Y. P., & Jian, C. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1857855
Irving, R., Zhao, Y., Stahl, G., Opozda, M. J., Holohan, L., Smith, J. A., Edwards, E. J., Drummond, M., Underwood, M., & Scholes, L. (2026) · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · doi:10.1080/02673843.2026.2700267
Hartwig, K., Biselli, T., Schneider, F., Becker, T., & Reuter, C. (2026) · Medien - Aufklärung - Kritik · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-52212-4_9
Ngo, T. T. A., NGUYEN, K. T. K., Huu Loc, T. R. A. N., & NGUYEN, N. Q. H. (2026) · Telematics and Informatics Reports · doi:10.1016/j.teler.2026.100362
Lin, K.-S., Zhang, L.-Y., & Xie, Q. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1823402
Wang, S.-T., & Cai, Y.-X. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-10736501/v1
Nguyen, C. T. M., & Lee, C. S. (2026) · Technology in Society · doi:10.1016/j.techsoc.2026.103563
MEDIA LITERACY AND DIGITAL MISINFORMATION: A STUDY OF YOUTH IN DELHI
Adhikari, P., Verma, S., Tandon, S., & Tripathi, D. (2026) · ShodhVichar Journal of Media and Mass Communication · doi:10.29121/naq7fr95
Myung, E., & Riddle, K. E. (2026) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2026.2748522
- Authors
- Paciello, M., Corbelli, G., & D’Errico, F.
- Affiliations
- UniNettuno University (IT)
- University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Corbelli, Giuseppe
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2023-05-18
- Volume
- 14
- Pages
- 1155280-1155280
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10233930
- OpenAlex
- W4377104090
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 16.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (University of Bari Aldo Moro) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Compagnia di San Paolo (CUP: B99C20000640007, B99C20000640007)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Strategies and Epistemologies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Literacy, Media, and Education
- Keywords
- self-efficacy, misinformation, adolescents, online misinformation, fact-checking, self-regulation, emotion regulation, cognitive reflection, source reliability
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
