Self-Esteem and Academic Self-Efficacy: A Consideration of Sex Role Orientation

Abstract

The exploration of sex role orientation and its impact on self-esteem and self-efficacy presents a compelling avenue for understanding the intricate dynamics of gender identity and its influence on personal perceptions and capabilities. The current study’s objective was to evaluate the relationships among sex-role orientation, self-esteem and self-efficacy in adolescence. The study was based on cross-sectional survey research design. A questionnaire package comprised of a Personal Information Form along with Bangla version of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (Owen & Forman, 1988) was administered to a purposive sample of 300 (149 boys and 151 girls) college students of various college around Gopalganj, Bangladesh. Data were analyzed computing mean, standard deviation, t-test, Pearson r and hierarchical regression in SPSS version 22.0. The findings of the t-test revealed girls exhibited higher scores on self-esteem and self-efficacy compared to boys. Results showed that androgynous and masculine adolescents scored higher on self -efficacy and self-esteem than feminine adolescents. When the contributions of masculinity, femininity and androgyny to self-esteem and self-efficacy were assessed, androgynous orientation is conducive to be a good predictor of self-esteem and self-efficacy among adolescents. The study is an important addition in the existing body of knowledge on self-esteem and self-efficacy in determining sex role identity by adolescents.