How can we help teenagers trust their abilities?
Self-efficacy is the feeling that a person has of feeling capable of doing what is necessary to achieve the results they desire. In other words, it is the belief we have about our ability to achieve goals , manage situations and overcome challenges.
According to Albert Bandura, a Canadian psychologist who proposed this concept, this belief determines how we feel, how we think, how we behave and how we motivate ourselves. In fact, self-efficacy and self-esteem are closely related and mutually reinforcing.
This perception of competence is not fixed: we can have high self-efficacy in one area (such as sports) and low in another (such as mathematics). But the most important thing is that it can be trained and developed.
The perception of being able
What is self-efficacy for?
Believing that you can achieve what you want is one of the most powerful ingredients for achieving it, not only in the academic field, but also in the personal and vital realm. People who are confident in their abilities:
- They approach tasks as challenges.
- They persevere in the face of difficulties.
- They are proactive and take initiative.
- They recover, transform and learn.
On the other hand, low self-efficacy can cause people not to even try to achieve a goal, because they initially believe they will not be able to do it. In this way, they set limits for themselves.
How can we help train self-efficacy in adolescence?
Self-efficacy can be trained and developed through different strategies that can be worked on both at home and in the educational center. Here are some strategies to do this, with specific examples for adults who accompany adolescents:
1. Promote successful experiences
Successful experiences are the basis for increasing confidence in one's own abilities.
Example: If a teenager wants to improve his oral presentations, help him prepare a short and simple presentation. If he does well, he will feel more confident to tackle a more complex one. Little by little, he will associate his effort with positive results. Adjust the challenges to his level. If they are too difficult, he will get frustrated. If they are too easy, he will not grow.
2. Use role models
Observing similar people (peers, siblings, real role models) successfully tackling tasks can increase self-efficacy.
Example: Show them an artist who had difficulty learning to play an instrument, but now enjoys it a lot thanks to perseverance. This may motivate them to persist as well.
Guidelines for resilient parenting
3. Make positive verbal assessments
What we hear from other people can transform the way we see ourselves. How we talk to ourselves is also very important.
Example: After a failed attempt on a test, you can say: "I saw that you tried really hard. How do you feel? Maybe it didn't turn out the way you wanted, but this will help you do better next time." Avoid empty praise like "you're the best," and opt for messages that reinforce effort and improvement.
We can provide adolescents with tools to believe in themselves, to try, to persist and to face difficulties.
4. Manage moods
Our emotional state greatly influences how we feel about ourselves and how capable we see ourselves and move us to action.
Example: Before an exam, help her take a deep breath or think of a situation that makes her feel calm. This can reduce anxiety and increase her self-confidence.
5. Practice visualization
Imagining yourself achieving a goal can help a person focus and prepare the brain to achieve it.
Example: Invite the person to close their eyes before an interview, imagining themselves entering the room, responding confidently, and leaving satisfied. This mental exercise can help them act more confidently.
People who are confident in their abilities persevere in the face of difficulties, take initiative, recover and learn.
Beyond motivation
Working on self-efficacy is much more than motivating, it is providing adolescents with tools to believe in themselves , to try, to persist and to cope. And this confidence is not built alone: it is necessary to create contexts in which they can experience and train this skill.
Self-efficacy is cultivated step by step , with appropriate challenges, constructive messages and affectionate and respectful support. And when this belief takes root, the adolescent becomes the protagonist of his or her own life.
Adult figures play a fundamental role in this training and must exercise conscious accompaniment . Some specific actions that can help:
- Make your strengths visible in a realistic way.
- Value efforts, not just results.
- Talk naturally about limitations as points to improve in a constructive way.
- Encourage the person to try again after a mistake or something that didn't go as they expected.
- Ask him what his life aspirations are beyond academia.
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