A study of self-confidence of adolescents in relation to their gender, locality and academic achievement

Abstract

This research study was conducted to study Self-Confidence of adolescents in relation to their gender, locality and academic achievement. For this purpose 1000 adolescents (361 male and 639 female students) among them 671 urban and 329 rural adolescents between the age range of 17 to 19 years have taken. Self-confidence inventory developed by Dr Rekha Gupta was used to find out the self-confidence among adolescents. Students result is considered to determine the academic achievement. To analyze and interpret the data, mean, S.D., t-test and Pearson Product Correlation coefficient was used. The findings revealed that significant difference was found between male and female adolescents in relation to their self-confidence. While no significant difference was found between male and female adolescents in relation to their academic achievement .Finding also shows significant difference was found between urban and rural adolescents in relation to their self-confidence. While significant difference was found between urban and rural adolescents in relation to their academic achievement. A positive correlation was found between self-confidence and academic achievement of adolescents.

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ISSN Print: 2394-7500
ISSN Online: 2394-5869
Impact Factor: 5.2
IJAR 2015; 1(12): 541-544
www.allresearchjournal.com
Received: 16-09-2015
Accepted: 18-10-2015
Fareen Fatma
(Ph. D. Scholar) Faculty of
Education Integral University
Lucknow (U.P.), India
Correspondence
Fareen Fatma
(Ph. D. Scholar) Faculty of
Education Integral University
Lucknow (U.P.), India
A study of self-confidence of adolescents in relation to
their gender, locality and academic achievement
Fareen Fatma
Abstract
This research study was conducted to study Self-Confidence of adolescents in relation to their gender,
locality and academic achievement. For this purpose 1000 adolescents (361 male and 639 female
students) among them 671 urban and 329 rural adolescents between the age range of 17 to 19 years
have taken. Self-confidence inventory developed by Dr Rekha Gupta was used to find out the self-
confidence among adolescents. Students result is considered to determine the academic achievement.
To analyze and interpret the data, mean, S.D., t- test and Pearson Product Correlation coefficient was
used.
The findings revealed that significant difference was found between male and female adolescents in
relation to their self-confidence. While no significant difference was found between male and female
adolescents in relation to their academic achievement .Finding also shows significant difference was
found between urban and rural adolescents in relation to their self-confidence. While significant
difference was found between urban and rural adolescents in relation to their academic achievement. A
positive correlation was found between self-confidence and academic achievement of adolescents.
Keywords: self-confidence, academic achievement, adolescents.
Introduction
Educated manpower is the emerging need of any nation as educated and skilled human
resource is asset for any country. It becomes indispensable to develop human resource from
the early stages of human life; Children are to be set to develop realistic aspiration
encompassing their lives, education and prospects of the future. Therefore, correlates to
academic achievement draw the attention of researches. Among the correlates at present
psycho-social variables are gaining importance. Self-confidence and academic achievement
are psycho-social variable.
Adolescence is the most important period of human life. The child experiences a number of
changes in this transitional period. The adolescent has to change his old habits of childhood
in home, school and society. So adolescents need guidance in the development of healthy
social relations and for this purpose. The school is the most appropriate place where various
activities can be organized to poster self confidence among students. Keeping these points in
view the present study was under taken. In the words of Basavanna (1975), “Self Confidence
refers to an individual’s perceived ability to act effectively in a situation to overcome
obstacles and to get things go all right.”
Maikhuri, R. & Panole, S.K., (1977), in his study about “Self-confidence of adolescents in
relation to their academic achievement” revealed that there is no significant correlation
between academic achievement and Self Confidence. However, significant differences were
observed in the academic achievement to the high and low self-confidence groups. Singh.
Y.G., (2010), the results of the study revealed that the significant co-relationship between
self- confidence & academic achievement. S.M. Makvana., (2012). The results of the study
revealed that urban male, students of higher
Secondary are more developed with respect to self-confidence compared to rural female
secondary school students. Dhall. S., Thukral. P., (2013), the results of the study revealed
that intelligence is significantly and positively related with self-confidence and academic
achievement. Lal, k (2014), the results of the study revealed that there is significant
In tern ationa l Jour nal o f Appli ed Re searc h 2015; 1(12 ): 541-544

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International Journal of Applied Research
relationship between self-confidence and academic
achievement of male and female adolescents. Academic
achievement is considered as a key criterion to judge one’s
total potentialities and capabilities. Therefore it is more
pressing for the individuals/ students to have high academic
achievement. The term achievement refers to the degree or
the level of success attainted in some specific school tasks
especially scholastic performance, in this sense academic
achievement means the attained ability to perform school
tasks, which can be general or specific to a given subject
matter. Academic achievement could be defined as self-
perception and self-evaluation of one’s objective academic
success. Academic achievement generally indicates the
learning outcomes of pupil. Achievement of those learning
outcomes requires a series of planned and organized
experiences.
Academic Achievement of Students is influenced by so
many factors such as student related, teacher related and
school related. Among them, Self-confidence is considered
to be an important one. Self-confidence is a widely used
concept both in popular language and in psychology. The
idea of adolescence being a period of ‘storm and stress’ – a
perspective which was introduced by Hall (1904) and
supported by the psychoanalytic tradition (Freud, 1958) and
Erikson’s (1968) definition of adolescence as a time of
identity crisis – was popular for most of the 20th century.
Need and Significance of the Study:
Confidence is the growth hormone for an individual’s
personality development. Without confidence, a person’s
growth in his life; personal, professional and social remains
stunted.
If the educational endeavours are to succeed in deriving
optimal benefit from the input, the capabilities of pupils need
to grow constantly unhampered through the encounter of the
individual with his environment. Adolescents who have poor
self-confidence and academic achievement cannot fit into
normal situations. If one is not able to fit into normal
situations, he/she cannot achieve at the expected level. The
main aim of the course gets spoiled. Thus, they become a
problem not only to themselves but to the home, school and
community also.
During adolescence, self-confidence is affected by age, race,
ethnicity, puberty, health, body height, body weight, body
image, involvement in physical activities, gender
presentation, gender identity, and awakening or discovery of
sexuality. Self-confidence can vary and be observed in a
variety of dimensions. Components of one's social and
academic life affect self-esteem. An individual's self-
confidence can vary in different environments, such as at
home or in school.
Self-confidence is one of the personality trait which is a
composite of a person’s thoughts and feelings, strivings and
hopes, fears and fantasies, his view of what he is, what he
has been, what he might become, and his attitudes pertaining
to his worth. Self-confidence is a positive attitude of oneself
towards ones self-concept. It is an attribute of perceived self.
Self- Confidence refers to a person’s perceived ability to
tackle situations successfully without leaning on others and
to have a positive self-evaluation. A self-confident person
perceives himself to be socially competent, emotionally
mature, intellectually adequate, successful, satisfied,
decisive, optimistic, independent, self-reliant, self-assured,
forward moving, fairly assertive and having leadership
qualities. So the concept of self-confidence enjoys important
position in the theories of human behaviour and personality
and is regarded as a basic condition of human existence in
modern day world by many thinkers. Adolescence is the
period of time when the surge of life reaches its highest peak.
Academic achievement during this period can be a stepping
stone for the forthcoming year. Adolescents with high
academic achievement are considered to achieve their
identity in the society, get good career opportunities, develop
leadership qualities, and enhance their self-confidence and
self-esteem whereas, academic failure leads to frustration,
stress, inferiority complex, rejection, increased number of
suicides, discouragement and ultimately to dropping out.
Objectives of the Study
1. To study self-confidence and academic achievement of
male and female adolescents.
2. To study self-confidence and academic achievement of
urban and rural adolescents.
3. To study relationship between self-confidence and
academic achievement of adolescents.
Hypotheses of the Study
1. There is no significant difference between male and
female adolescents in relation to their self-confidence.
2. There is no significant difference between male and
female adolescents in relation to their academic
achievement.
3. There is no significant difference between urban and
rural adolescents in relation to their self- confidence.
4. There is no significant difference between urban and
rural adolescents in relation to their academic
achievement.
5. There is no relationship between self-confidence and
academic achievement of adolescents.
Delimitation of the study
The proposed study included only 4 districts i.e. Lucknow,
Kanpur, Sitapur & Lakhimpur of central UP. The study
delimited only for 1000 students of 17 to 19 years only.
Sample
This study was conducted on 1000 students at graduation
level from (4 districts i.e. Lucknow, Kanpur, Sitapur &
Lakhimpur of central U.P). 361 male students and 639
female students have been taken for study. From which 671
from urban areas and 329 from rural areas.
Tool used for data collection
In this present study the Self-confidence inventory has been
used for data collection. Self- confidence inventory
developed by Dr Rekha Gupta. The Self-confidence
inventory has been designed in Hindi to assess the level of
self confidence among adolescents and adults. Coefficient of
reliability for this inventory was determined by split half,
Kuder-Richardson 20 formula and test retest method
respectively .91,.89,.78. The validity coefficients were
determined for each item by biserial correlation method and
only those items were retained which yielded .25 or above
biserial correlation with the total score.
Scoring Procedure
The inventory can be scored by hand. A score of one is
awarded for a response indicative of lack of Self-Confidence,

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International Journal of Applied Research
i.e., for making cross  to wrong response to item no’s. 2, 7,
23, 31, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 53, 54, 55 and for making cross 
to right response to the rest of the items. Hence, the lower the
score, the higher would be the confidence and vice- versa
Statistical techniques used
After arranging the scores under sub-headings, means and
standard deviation of each head was calculated. Further
calculation was done through following steps-
1 Mean, SD, Standard error of mean for all groups was
calculated.
2 Student-test (t-test) was applied to check the difference
between two means obtained from the groups, Pearson
product correlation coefficient.
Analysis and Interpretation of Data:
The data collected on the basis of self-confidence and
academic achievement of adolescent students and scores are
systematically analyzed with help of suitable statistical
techniques in order to find out the answers to the questions
raised in this present study.
Hypothesis: 1 - There is no significant difference between
male and female adolescents in relation to their self-
confidence.
Table 1
Gender
N
Mean
S.D
t-value
(df=998)
Significance
Male
361
28.29
7.532
4.152
Significant at
0.05 level
Female
639
30.38
7.791
Table no 1 shows that there is significant difference between
male and female adolescents in relation to their self-
confidence. The mean score of male adolescents is 28.29,
while the mean score of female adolescents is 30.38, whereas
their standard deviations are 7.532 and 7.791 respectively.
The t-value between two means is 4.152. Which is greater
than the tabulated value 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance and
998 degree of freedom. Thus the null hypothesis is rejected.
Hypothesis: 2 - There is no significant difference between
male and female adolescents in relation to their academic
achievement. Table 2
Gender
N
Mean
S.D
t-value
(df=998)
Significance
Male
361
63.32
9.174
1.814
Not Significant at
0.05 level
Female
639
64.41
8.859
Table no 2 shows that there is no significant difference
between academic achievement of male and female
adolescents. The mean score of male adolescents is 63.32,
while the mean score of female adolescents is 64.41, whereas
their standard deviation 9.174 and 8.859 respectively. The t-
value between two means is 1.814. Which is less than the
tabulated value 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance and 998
degree of freedom. Thus the null hypothesis is accepted.
Hypothesis: 3 - There is no significant difference between
urban and rural adolescents in relation to their self-
confidence.
Table 3
Locality
N
Mean
S.D
t-value
(df=998)
Significance
Urban
671
30.13
7.638
2.907
Significant at
0.05 level
Rural
329
28.60
7.915
Table no 3 shows that there is significant difference between
urban and rural adolescents in relation to their self-
confidence. The mean score of urban adolescents is 30.13,
while the mean score of rural adolescents is 28.60, whereas
their standard deviations are 7.638 and 7.915 respectively.
The t-value between two means is 2.907. Which is greater
than the tabulated value 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance and
998 degree of freedom. Thus the null hypothesis is rejected.
Hypothesis: 4 - There is no significant difference between
urban and rural adolescents in relation to their academic
achievement.
Table 4
Locality
N
Mean
S.D
t-value
(df=998)
Significance
Urban
671
64.63
8.712
3.023
Significant at
0.05 level
Rural
329
62.76
9.405
Table no 4 shows that there is significant difference between
urban and rural adolescents in relation to their academic
achievement. The mean score of urban adolescents is 64.63,
while the mean score of rural adolescents is 62.76, whereas
their standard deviations are 8.712 and 9.405 respectively.
The t-value between two means is 3.023. Which is greater
than the tabulated value 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance and
998 degree of freedom. Thus the null hypothesis is rejected.
Hypothesis 5 - There is no relationship between self-
confidence and academic achievement of adolescents.
Table 5
Variable 1
Variable 2
Pearson’s coefficient Correlation 2-tailed test
Self confidence
Academic Achievement
.149
Table 5 shows that the Positive correlation between the self-
confidence and academic achievement of adolescents.
Positive correlation indicates that, as the self-confidence
increases, academic achievement of adolescents also
increases and vice-versa.
Findings
1 The selfconfidence of male adolescents is higher in
comparison to female adolescents because the mean
score of male adolescents is less. Acc to manual of the
test lower the score, higher would be selfconfidence.
There is significant difference found between male and
female adolescents in relation to their selfconfidence.
Thus the null hypothesis is rejected.
2 The mean score of female adolescents is higher than
male adolescents which shows the academic
achievement of female adolescents is higher than the
male adolescents. There is no significant difference
found between male and female adolescents in relation

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International Journal of Applied Research
to their academic achievement. Thus the null hypothesis
is accepted.
3 The selfconfidence of rural adolescents is higher in
comparison to urban adolescents because the mean score
of rural adolescents is less. Acc to manual of the test
lower the score, higher would be selfconfidence. There
is significant difference found between urban and rural
adolescents in relation to their selfconfidence. Thus the
null hypothesis is rejected
4 The mean score of urban adolescents is higher than rural
adolescents which shows the academic achievement of
urban adolescents is higher than the rural adolescents.
There is significant difference found between urban and
rural adolescents in relation to their academic
achievement. Thus the null hypothesis is rejected.
5 A positive correlation found between selfconfidence and
academic achievement of adolescents. Positive
correlation indicates that selfconfidence increases,
academic achievement of adolescents also increases.
This result shows negligible positive correlation between
selfconfidence and academic achievement.
Educational Implications: Teacher’s parents and society
plays a dominant role in development of adolescents.
Selfconfidence is an important mediating variable that
impacts on academic achievement of adolescents. Self-
confidence is an attitude which allows individuals to have
positive yet realistic views of themselves and their situations.
From the present study, it is evident that there is a positive
relationship between the self- confidence and academic
achievement of adolescents. The findings give enormous
scope for improvement of self confidence among adolescent
students. It shows that selfconfidence increases, academic
achievement of adolescents also increases. Teachers should
help in reducing the feelings of failure so that the self-
confidence of the students can be enhanced. So, teachers as
well as parents should see that adolescents feel confident
about them and perform better in their life.
Conclusion
 It can be concluded that the self-confidence of male
adolescents more than the female adolescents.
 Academic achievement of female adolescents more than the
male adolescents.
 The self-confidence of rural adolescents more than the urban
adolescents.
 Academic achievement of urban adolescents more than the
rural adolescents.
 A positive correlation found between selfconfidence and
academic achievement of adolescents. Positive correlation
indicates that as selfconfidence increases, academic
achievement of adolescents also increases. This result shows
negligible positive correlation between selfconfidence and
academic achievement.
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