Self-efficacy and Prosocial Tendencies in Italian Adolescents

This study explored the relationships between different types of self-efficacy and prosocial tendencies in a sample of 108 Italian adolescents, attending two Public Junior and High Schools at Catania (Sicily, Italy). We used three scales of measure of empathic, problem solving, and interpersonal communication self-efficacy (Caprara, 2001, ), and the Prosocial Tendencies Measure (Carlo & Randall, 2002), divided in three main factors (anonymous, public, and helping behavior in emotionally critical and dire situations).ResultsMost adolescents expressed low levels of self-efficacy in problem solving and empathy, but both low and high levels of self-efficacy in interpersonal communication. Self-efficacy in problem solving, empathy, and interpersonal communication was positively related to helping behavior in emotionally critical and dire situations; in addition, self-efficacy in problem solving and empathy was positively related to public prosocial behavior. Future research could analyze the impact of other psychological dimensions (e.g. resilience, personality traits, and value orientations) on prosocial tendencies.