Social self-efficacy in adolescence: Relations with self-concept, social adjustment, and mental health.

Abstract

Evaluations of self-efficacy in carrying out social tasks that underlie successful personal relations have been highlighted as an important component of social competence in childhood and adolescence. An examination of social self-efficacy in two samples of high school students and a sample of emotionally disturbed adolescents is reported. The Adolescent Social Self-Efficacy Scale, a 25-item scale which elicits self-ratings of behavioural effectiveness in problematic peer contexts, was developed. Scale homogeneity and test-retest reliability were evident in the samples tested. Validity of the social self-efficacy construct was demonstrated by correlations with indices of social self-concept and ratings of social adjustment. Clinical utility of the scale was also evident. Emotionally disturbed adolescents rated themselves more poorly than did their well-functioning peers. These findings support the conceptualization of social self-efficacy as a component of social competence and as a contributor to mental health.