Examples Of Self Efficacy

Theme 2: Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy is defined as an individual’s confidence in themselves and the way one feels, thinks, motivates, and behaves given the circumstances and experiences that she goes through in life (Bandura, 1994). This is a common theme that was evident in all of the five participants as they transformed from being a teenager and accepted their role as a mother. Influenced by their environmental factors and social support system, each participant described their motivation to become a competent parent.

The transformation from being an adolescent to becoming a teenage mother was described as a scary experience by the participants. Each of them found the importance of having a stable support system in dealing with the emotional and financial aspect help them rebuild their self-concept, as they became a teenage mother.

Kathy recalls turning to her family and friends for emotional, mental and financial support. “You can never go wrong with that kind of support that I have,” she highlighted, “it was important because I probably would’ve gone crazy if I didn’t have the support system.”

This helped them stand on their feet and provided them a high self-efficacy to face the challenges of becoming a teenage mother. With the positive outlook that was given to them, the participants felt motivated to become a good teenage mother for their child. Adding on, MacPhee (1996) explained that the perceptions of becoming a competent parent is highly influenced by their support figures contributing to motivate their practices as nurturing

According to Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, individuals at this stage are experiencing “Identity vs. Role Confusion” in which the adolescent struggle to discover and find his or her own identity, while negotiating and struggling with social interactions and “fitting in” and developing a sense of morality and right from wrong. Adolescents during this time place a high importance on social relationships, such as friends and experimenting with different roles, activities and behaviors. All five of the participants expressed that they had to sacrifice this social aspect during the time of teenage motherhood. Although they felt that it was difficult to forgo, the participants took on their new mother role and committed to their obligations. This attributed to their dignity and pride as a mother that each participant manifested (Erikson