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Nurturing self-efficacy in youth: The key to successful transitions into adulthood

When it comes to helping young people achieve their potential, many parents tend to focus on extrinsic accomplishments such as academic degrees and jobs; however, the hidden world of self-efficacy, and the degree to which a young person believes in themselves, can be seen as more important than any single achievement. Ultimately, self-efficacy boils down to one’s belief in oneself, and the degree to which a young adult cultivates this belief has immense effects on their long-term growth and happiness.

According to youth development expert Maks Ezrin, who leads the mentoring organization Youth Prevention Mentors (YPM), self-efficacy creates a solid foundation for young adult success. He explains, “Self-efficacy is one of the most important skills a young person can cultivate. More specifically, self-efficacy is concerned with one’s ability to coordinate their skills to achieve a desired outcome, an occurrence we are seeing less and less within the younger demographic. This decline in self-efficacy has resulted in the somewhat antiquated term ‘failure to launch.’”

At YPM, Ezrin has designed a novel approach to helping young adults. By providing a mentoring service that is grounded in evidence-based practices and paired with premier clinicians, YPM has helped hundreds of adolescents and young adults globally to gain the skills required to overcome adversity and activate their potential. As Ezrin states, “Our mentors are not task-masters and drill sergeants, but are highly effective at establishing rapport and helping guide their mentees toward their potential.”

Cultivating youth self-efficacy

When it comes to cultivating self-efficacy, encouragement should be focused on a young person’s efforts above all else, Ezrin says. This is a core component of motivational interviewing, a technique used by all of YPM’s mentors. For instance, when a young person experiences a setback, it can seem like a sign of personal failure and potentially lead to self-loathing and self-doubt. Mentors help their mentees bypass this vicious cycle by navigating the turbulence of setbacks in real time and helping keep their mentees on a positive trajectory. By instilling an understanding that all self-improvement comes with challenges and obstacles, mentors help their mentees reframe cognitive barriers and avoid self-destructive tendencies.

Small achievements build lasting efficacy

“When young people directly overcome challenges through their own efforts and abilities, they build a strong belief in their capacity to replicate future successes. This is what is referred to as performance experience, and is one of the most powerful sources of increasing self-efficacy, ” Ezrin explains. At YPM, a young person’s mentor strategically facilitates conversations and experiences that are designed to enhance self-efficacy. Specifically, mentors work side by side with their mentees to help them learn how to turn their larger goals into daily and weekly steps that they can act upon. As these small wins accumulate, mentees get the satisfaction of achieving regular milestones whilst growing their inner confidence and resilience.

The difference between mentoring and therapy

According to Ezrin, “While traditional talk-therapy tends to be more focused on past events, mentoring is more oriented toward the future and how to get there.” Also, unlike therapists, mentors are at liberty to disclose their personal experiences to their mentees. By openly sharing their own winding journeys of turning setbacks into accomplishments, mentors build their mentees’ gain confidence in their own capacity to navigate adversities on the horizon. As Ezrin states, “Watching those further along the path respond to crises with skill and wisdom models for youth that obstacles are temporary rather than permanent. Similarly, self-efficacy beliefs can be impacted by our observations of others and the consequences of their behaviors only if we believe we are similar to the person we are observing.” Lastly, he adds, “Mentoring and therapy are symbiotic. We work with premier clinicians who provide quality clinical work, while our mentors provide experiential and real-time support. It’s never one or the other, both are key factors in coordinating lasting behavioral change.”

The future is theirs to shape

“Adolescents need to have a sense from their surrounding influences that they matter, that they belong, and that they can affect change around them,” concludes Ezrin. “By taking strategic steps to cultivate self-efficacy, we can help young adults ignite what  motivates them and help them discover the confidence required to achieve their potential.”

YPM is a global mentoring organization that specializes in working with youth ages 12 to 35. Youth mentoring can promote self-efficacy in real time, and YPM has a network of over 100 highly accredited and experienced mentors.

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The news and editorial staffs of the Chicago Tribune had no role in this post’s preparation.