The Association between Perceived Social Support and Self-Efficacy of Turkish Elementary School Children

Abstract

Positive power is very important for adolescents' physical and mental health. The sample for the study was composed of a total of 760 students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades from 7 elementary schools. The sociodemographic data form, the "Child-Adolescent Social Support Scale" (CASSS) for measuring the social support perceived and the "Middle School Self-efficacy Scale" for measuring self-efficacy were used. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between the social support perceived and elementary school students' self-efficacy and the variables that influence perceived social support and self-efficacy. A positive relationship was determined between the CASSS and point averages on the sub-scales, the Middle School Self-efficacy Scale and the sub-scales of the students (p<0.001). It was established that the perceived social support in adolescents has affected their self-efficacy skills. It is recommended that professionals dealing with adolescent health should guide the adolescents by using social support and health self-efficacy on gaining skills for health protection, promotion and to take over the responsibility of their own health.