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Self-Efficacy and Adolescents’ Health

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Encyclopedia of Adolescence

Overview

Self-efficacy refers to optimistic beliefs about individual ability to deal with tasks at hand. Several major psychological theories explain how these beliefs operate in concert with other cognitions, affecting adolescents’ health behavior, emotions, somatic symptoms, and reactions to stress. The most frequently applied approach to self-efficacy (Social Cognitive Theory) clarifies how this construct should be measured. The essay provides a review of investigations of effects of adolescents’ efficacy beliefs on their health. Research on health-compromising behaviors (e.g., smoking), health-promoting practices (e.g., physical activity), disease management (adherence to treatment), psychosomatic symptoms and mental health issues (e.g., pubertal depression), as well as stress responses (e.g., coping effectiveness) are discussed. The essay concludes with an overview of burning issues in this area, including the role of age and gender.

Definitions: Self-Efficacy and Its Role in the...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Aleksandra Luszczynska

  2. Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, ul. Grunwaldzka 98, PL-50-357, Wroclaw, Poland

    Aleksandra Luszczynska

  3. Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Szeged, 6722, Szentharomsag u.5, Szeged, Hungary

    Bettina Piko

  4. Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, ul. Chodakowska 19/31, 03-815, Warsaw, Poland

    Anna Januszewicz

Authors
  1. Aleksandra Luszczynska
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  2. Bettina Piko
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  3. Anna Januszewicz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aleksandra Luszczynska .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

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Luszczynska, A., Piko, B., Januszewicz, A. (2011). Self-Efficacy and Adolescents’ Health. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_190

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_190

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1694-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1695-2

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