Adolescent’s Self-Perceived Social Behavior as a Predictor of the Attitude Toward the Behavioral Style of Social Conflicts

Abstract

 Purpose of this study was to contribute to the quality of the clinical advisory work with adolescents in vocational schools who manifest violent behaviour pat-tern in the social conflicts. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between attitudes toward the behaviour patterns of adolescents in social con-flicts and the self-evaluation of their own social behaviour.

Design: The study was conducted in Primorje – Gorski Kotar county, Croatia on the stratified sample of eight vocational schools (N=1125). Two measurement scales were applied: The scale of attitudes towards the behaviour patterns of adolescents in social conflicts (Vlah, 2010) and The Scale of self-evaluation of own social behaviour (Vlah et al., 2012, in press). Three hypotheses were groun-ded in Bem’s Theory of Self-Perception (1967, 1972) and functional definition of the formation of attitudes. They were tested by conducting correlation and hie-rarchical regression analyses.

Research findings are: a) girls, older pupils and those pupils who evaluated their behaviour as sociable, conventional and non-self-promotion are more tended to pattern of cooperation; b) younger pupils and those pupils who evaluated their behaviour as sociable, conventional and non-self-promotion are more tended to pattern of avoidance/adaptation; c) while boys, younger pupils and those pupils who evaluated their behaviour as non-sociable, non-conventional and self-promotion are more tended to pattern of winning.

Practical implication: The practical implications of this research are the potential improvement of the quality of the clinical advisory work with adolescents at risk for violent behaviour in conflict situations.

Values: Study opens a question of the influence of self-perception in the forma-tion of adolescent attitude towards a particular pattern of behaviour in social conflicts.