Self-efficacy as a positive youth development construct: a conceptual review.

Self-efficacy denotes people's beliefs about their ability to perform in different situations. It functions as a multilevel and multifaceted set of beliefs that influence how people feel, think, motivate themselves, and behave during various tasks. Self-efficacy beliefs are informed by enactive attainment, vicarious experience, imaginal experiences, and social persuasion as well as physical and emotional states. These beliefs are mediated by cognitive, motivational, affective, and selection processes to generate actual performance. Self-efficacy development is closely intertwined with a person's experiences, competencies, and developmental tasks in different domains at different stages in life. This paper reviews the literature to outline the definition and theoretical conceptualizations of the construct originally devised by Bandura that have flourished since the 1990s. Drawing from the studies of the construct to assess self-efficacy, and to inform positive youth development, the paper will present the determinants of the development of self-efficacy beliefs and identify the connection between self-efficacy and adolescent developmental outcomes. The paper will conclude with strategies to enhance youth self-efficacy and proposals for future research directions.

Positive identity as a positive youth development construct: a conceptual review.

Identity is a core construct in psychology because it refers to how a person addresses issues dealing with who that person is. Important theorists studying the concept of identity, like Erikson, Marcia, and Higgins, assert that identity is organized,is learned, and is dynamic, and a subjective evaluation of an individual's identity has emotional consequences for that individual. Adolescents who can cultivate a clear and positive identity after their developmental struggles during adolescence often advance more smoothly into adulthood. This paper reviews literature on the nature and structure of identity and examines its importance on adolescent developmental outcomes. It traces significant determinants of identity and proposes strategies for cultivation of positive identity. Observations on current research gaps in the study of identity and future research directions will also be discussed.

Combating school bullying through developmental guidance for positive youth development and promoting harmonious school culture.

Bullying and violence, which can bring detrimental effects, are situations which young people have to face in their process of development. Though school bullying has been a spreading and explicit problem in Hong Kong schools, most of the programs or guidelines dealing with the problem lack citywide, recognized initiatives and the effectiveness of these programs is unknown due to the lack of evaluation. The present paper discusses preventing school bullying from a developmental guidance perspective, using the positive youth development paradigm and promoting the values of harmony and forgiveness at the whole-school level to cultivate a harmonious school culture as a way of combating school bullying.

Bystander position taking in school bullying: the role of positive identity, self-efficacy, and self-determination.

School bullying has become an explicit, burgeoning problem challenging the healthy development of children and adolescents in Hong Kong. Many bullying prevention and intervention programs focus on victims and bullies, with bystanders treated as either nonexistent or irrelevant. This paper asserts that bystanders actually play pivotal roles in deciding whether the bullying process and dynamics are benign or adversarial. Bystanders' own abilities and characteristics often influence how they respond to victims and bullies. "P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme" (P.A.T.H.S. = Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) is an evidence-based positive youth development program which shows that primary intervention programs have constructive impacts on junior secondary school students' beliefs and behavior. This paper asserts that intrapsychic qualities, namely identity, self-efficacy, and self-determination, greatly influence how bystanders react in school bullying situations. The paper also explains how classroom-based educational programs based on the P.A.T.H.S. model have been designed to help junior secondary school students strengthen these characteristics, so that they can be constructive bystanders when they encounter school bullying.

Subjective outcome evaluation of the project P.A.T.H.S.: Findings based on the perspective of the program implementers (secondary 1 program).

The aim of the current study was to replicate the subjective outcome evaluation based on program implementers in the first year (2006/07 school year) of the Full Implementation Phase (Secondary 1 level) of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes). After the completion of the Tier 1 program in the 2007/08 school year, 1324 implementers from 213 schools completed a Subjective Outcome Evaluation Form for instructors in order to assess their views of the program, themselves, and the perceived effectiveness of the program. Reliability test indicated the questionnaire was internally consistent. The results showed that, similar to the first year of implementation, high proportions of the respondents had positive perceptions of the program and their own performance. Regarding the perceived effectiveness of the program, roughly 90% of the respondents thought the program was helpful. A statistically significant increase in positive responses was also found in some items of perceived effectiveness in the second year of implementation. Possible factors contributing to such changes, including accumulation of experience and skill enhancement of the implementers, as well as stronger support from the schools, are discussed.