The Relationship of Positive Affect with Resilience and Self-Efficacy in Life Skills in Italian Adolescents

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the relationships of positive affect with dimensions of resilience and perceived self-efficacy in life skills in a sample of 147 Italian healthy adolescents. We used the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Resiliency Attitudes and Skills Profile (RASP), and the Perceived Self-Efficacy Scales in Life Skills. Statistical analyses indicated that adolescents with high positive affect reported higher levels of perceived self-efficacy in life skills than those with low positive affect; in addition, adolescents with high positive affect reached higher levels of resilience (that is, adaptability and engagement) than those with low positive affect. Given the relationship of positive affect both with dimensions of resilience and perceived self-efficacy in life skills, future investigations could better understand the functioning of protective factors actively engaged in facing up to the transition from childhood to adolescence, in line with the flourishing approach in supporting the promotion of psychological well-being and the increasing of individual's bio-psycho-social skills.

Psychological Well-Being and Self-Efficacy in Life Skills among Italian Preadolescents with Positive Body Esteem: Preliminary Results of an Intervention Project

“…These evidences are in line with the results obtained by Sagone & Indiana (2017) and by Caprara et al (2001) with reference to the sex differences about the perceived self-efficacy in regulation and managing of emotions.…”

“…Additionally, the findings of the current study and those of other researchers permitted to think about "the role of educational programs based on the development of life skills, demonstrated as widely efficient in various areas of well-being promotion in adolescence" (Sagone & Indiana, 2017).…”

“…For data collection we used a self-report questionnaire for socio-demographic information and the following measures: 1) the Italian adaptation of the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving, CIT-Child (see Su, Tay, & Diener, 2014;Andolfi, Tay, Confalonieri, & Traficante, 2017), 2) the Perceived Self-efficacy Scales in Life Skills (see Sagone & Indiana, 2017), and 3) the Italian validation of Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents-BES (see Mendelson, Mendelson, & White, 2001;Confalonieri, Gatti, Ionio, & Traficante, 2008). These measures were administered in a group setting during the school activities.…”

“…Among the components directly connected to psychological well-being in terms of "thriving", it is so possible to recognize the perceived self-efficacy (see Bandura, 1998): this psychological construct is defined by "beliefs in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of E. Sagone et al Psychology action required to produce given levels of attainments" (Bandura, 1998). Referring to this approach, self-efficacy beliefs are connected to specific domains of the individual's functioning: 1) self-efficacy in the expression of positive emotions and the managing of negative feelings (see Caprara, Gerbino, & Delle Fratte, 2001;Sagone & Indiana, 2017), 2) self-efficacy in interpersonal and social communication, relating to the individual's skill to efficiently communicate with the others, to actively participate in group setting and to establish good relationships with others (Pastorelli, Vecchio, & Boda, 2001), and 3) self-efficacy in problem solving useful to solve problems in a different and creative way. These individual's aspects were defined as "life skills", that are described as a set of "ab- This life skills program was focused on the application of a specific curriculum entitled "Every Body is a Somebody" and articulated in six weekly 50-min sessions about the following themes: "media influences", "enhancing self-esteem and body image", "body size acceptance", "healthy living", "stress management", and "positive relationships".…”

“…For the first phase, an exploratory analysis of the main life skills, psychological well-being and body esteem levels was carried out with 49 participants aged 12 to 14 years recruited from three classes of a Public Junior School in Catania (Sicily, Italy). We used the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving-CIT (Andolfi et al, 2017), the Perceived Self-efficacy Scales in Life Skills (Sagone & Indiana, 2017), and the Body Esteem Scale (Confalonieri et al, 2008). Results showed positive correlations between perceived self-efficacy in life skills and almost all factors of psychological well-being, as well as positive correlations between perceived self-efficacy in life skills and body esteem; in detail, the weight satisfaction was mainly related with self-efficacy in managing of negative emotions and poorly with self-efficacy in interpersonal communication; in addition, the external evaluation from the others regarding own body image was positively correlated with self-efficacy in managing of positive emotions.…”