Life in the societies of today is undergoing accelerated social and technological change as well as growing global interdependence. These challenging new realities place heavy pressure on people's capabilities to exercise some control over the course their lives take. The present volume is an outgrowth of the third annual conference convened by the Johann Jacobs Foundation at Schloss Marbach to examine the impact of youths' efficacy beliefs on their modes of adaptation. The volume is structured around the central theme that youths' beliefs in their personal efficacy to manage life demands affect their psychological well-being, their accomplishments, and the direction their lives take. The various chapters analyze the diverse ways in which efficacy beliefs contribute to the selection, construction, and management of environments in adaptation under rapidly changing societal conditions.

In the introductory chapter, Bandura addresses central issues concerning the nature and function of beliefs of personal efficacy. He examines the different sources of efficacy beliefs and the psychological processes through which they exert their effects. The bulk of the chapter is devoted to the influential role played by efficacy beliefs in different spheres of human functioning. These matters concern the heavy demands on parenting efficacy under the changing structure of family systems; the principal ways in which efficacy beliefs operate as key contributors to the intellectual development of children; and the way in which such beliefs shape occupational development and pursuits and affect the quality of health and psychological well-being.