Secure Attachment and Self-Efficacy in Early Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Hope

Abstract

Early adolescence is an important phase of development characteristically to stretch between the ages of 10 and 14 from childhood to late adolescence. The current research aims at developing a model for self-efficacy of adolescents which has a crucial function in their healthy development in this critical stage. It has been hypothesized that the adolescents with secure attachment have higher self-efficacy beliefs via increasing hope. The participants of the research comprised 353 early adolescents who were recruited from three different secondary schools continuing to sixth, seventh and eighth grades, in Antalya. To collect data, Relationship Scales Questionnaire, Children’s Hope Scale and Self-Efficacy Scale for Children were utilized. The results showed that all variables interrelated positively. Findings from the mediation analysis revealed that hope mediated the relationship between secure attachment and self-efficacy and the hypothesized model explained approximately 40% of the variance in self-efficacy. The discussion of the research findings was presented in conjunction with the literature and the recommendations for future studies were proposed.