Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1 MA Student in Educational Psychology, Persian Gulf University, Boushehr, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Psychology, Persian Gulf University, Boushehr, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Psychology, Persian Gulf University, Boushehr, Iran
Abstract
Introduction
Adolescence is a challenging developmental stage in which adolescents experience significant changes in their academic and work life due to the mismatch between developmental needs and the learning environment during puberty. Self-efficacy in adolescence is considered one of the most important factors for positive development. In Bandura's social-cognitive theory, this concept means an individual's confidence in their abilities to control their thoughts, feelings, actions, and perform effectively in stressful situations. Self-efficacy, as a predictive personality trait, can be influential in various aspects of adolescents' personal, social, and academic life. Among the important abilities in adolescence is a set of psychological abilities known as positive psychological capital. Psychological capital is the positive aspect of human life and is defined based on personal understanding, having a goal to achieve success and stability against problems. Psychological capital is an integrated and interconnected structure of which resilience is a part. Resilience is defined as the process of optimal adaptation in the face of problems, traumatic events, threats, or any stressful situation that may occur in life.
Resilience is an ability and skill that enables a person to adapt to problems and challenges. This factor contributes to the positive development process of adolescence. This study examined the effect of the relationship between optimism with resilience with the mediation of self-efficacy in adolescence.
Method
The aim of the present study is applied research and correlational data collection which is done through structural equation modeling. The participants are male and female sixth graders and first and second high school students who were studying in Bushehr in 1400-1401. 12 schools were randomly selected from each Bushehr elementary, first, and second high school. To test the research hypothesis, 600 students were selected through using a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Due to the conditions and limitations of the coronavirus disease, questionnaires were provided to students via social media such as Shad, Telegram, and WhatsApp, and eventually, out of 600 distributed questionnaires, 97 questionnaires were rejected and 503 questionnaires with valid information were identified and used in the analysis. Instruments included were a questionnaire Muris's (2001) Self-Efficacy Scales (SEQ-C), DeCaroli John and Sagon's (2014) Resilience Questionnaire, and Sher and Carver's (1985) optimism questionnaire. Analysis with the help of structural equation modeling was performed using SPSS and AMOS-24. In this study for the final assessment of questionnaires to measure Self-Efficacy, Resilience, and optimism Cronbach's alpha was used, and its values, respectively, were 0.90, 0.91, and 0.62.
Results
Based on the presented model, the relationship between optimism and resilience was confirmed with the mediation of self-efficacy in adolescence; The results showed there was a positive and significant relationship between optimism, self-efficacy with resilience. There was a positive and significant relationship between optimism and self-efficacy directly. There was a positive and significant relationship between self-efficacy and resilience directly. Furthermore, the results of the Bootstrap test showed that the path of optimism is significant indirectly through self-efficacy with resilience (p<0.01). Based on the presented model, the relationship between optimism by comparing the parameters of the proposed model with the final model, it can be concluded that the final model has a better fit than the data. The model's CFI fit index was above 0.92, and the RMSEA was equal to 0.09, indicating that the model was a good fit for the data. Considering the moderating role of gender in the structural equation model and the resilience variable, a separate model was drawn for girls and boys, and the results show that all relationships are positive and significant, and the relationship between self-efficacy and resilience is better in boys than in girls.
Discussion
According to the findings of this research, it can be concluded that the closer we get to adolescence, the effect of optimism decreases and also there is a positive and significant relationship between optimism and resilience through the mediation of self-efficacy. Optimism can have a significant impact on adolescents' self-efficacy and self-assertiveness, making them to feel more empowered when facing challenges. Highly optimistic adolescents have more resilience characteristics than adolescents with low optimism; High self-efficacy teenagers have higher resilience than people with low self-efficacy; The more optimistic the teenagers were, the more self-efficacy they had. One quality that distinguishes resilient people is optimism. These people are not psychologically harmed and have a positive outlook on life's challenges, which makes them more resilient to adversity even in the face of risk and difficulty. Resilient people have plans and goals for the future, find meaning in life, and, because of their high level of optimism, do not give up easily and instead put in more effort when they fail.
Keywords
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