Self-Image and Perceived Self-Efficacy During Adolescence

The aim of the research is to assess self-image and perceived self-efficacy during different phases of adolescence. We conducted a survey of 675 adolescents selected according to gender (289 males and 386 females), age (early, middle, and late adolescence), residential zone (low to middle and middle to high social background), and the kind of school (Italian arts/science/languages/classics-based high school or “liceo” vs. vocational school or “istituto tecnico”). The adolescents completed the Offer Self Image Questionnaire (OSIQ) to evaluate dimensions of self and a series of perceived self-efficacy scales. Adolescents generally describe themselves in positive terms. Multivariate analysis revealed that boys and students who attend vocational schools have a better self-image than girls and students at licei. Age and residential zone had only moderate effects. Girls proved to have better academic and regulatory self-efficacy but a lesser degree of emotional self-efficacy. We suggest that girls experience higher levels of stress during adolescence, probably as a result of educational factors, while the difficulties of liceo students may be the result of the significant distance between the actual self and the ideal self. The use of two constructs (selfimage and self-efficacy) confirmed the existence of multifaceted aspects contained within the concept of self.