Development of social identity and self efficacy in apprentice adolescents

Abstract

Objective: In Turkey under the stress of social and economic conditions, many young people quit their formal education and begin to work in adolescent which is one of the most important periods for psycho-social development. In this critic period adolescent workers have some troubles about identity development because of the working conditions developed by adults. The studies about identity has shown the positive effects of prestigious social and collective identity on perceived self efficacy is described by Social Cognitive Theory as people's beliefs in their capabilities to produce given attainments. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to examine of self efficacy beliefs of working adolescents considering their identity orientation and characteristics including gender, age, education levels of parents, belongingness to organization, departments they work, living area, working duration and family income). Material and Methods The subject of the study consists of 213 apprentice adolescents working for a textile company. The identity orientations of the participants were measured by "Identity Scale". The self efficacy beliefs were measured by "General Self Efficacy Scale". Results: According to findings there were significant correlations between the degree of belongingness to organization, living area and family income. According to results of Regression Analyses, "identity" predicted degree of self efficacy beliefs significantly. On the other hand, only collective identity was a significant predictor among other identity dimensions. Belongingness to organization, family income and collective identity significantly predicted 14% of total variance of self-efficacy beliefs. These variables were significant predictor for general self-efficacy beliefs of working adolescents. Conclusion: Only the physical working conditions of apprentices in the workplace environment but also create conditions that will support the social development should be in their self-efficacy perceptions of identity formation should be developed. Copyright © 2011 by Türkiye Klinikleri.