SELF-CONCEPT AND CAREER SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN PORTUGUESE ADOLESCENTS

Career social competence is understood as the ability to interact intelligently and socially adapted in situations of career education or informal career learning (Candeias & Almeida, 2005; Candeias, Araújo & Taveira, 2009). It requires a range of cognitive, social, and verbal skills, such as, for example, the ability to understand the behavior of others, including the notion that they can potentially have different perspectives, intentions, and knowledge (Astington & Jenkins, 1999; de Villiers & Pyers, 2002). For this to occur, one needs to perceive social cues and alter personal strategies on the basis of the feedback received from a social partner. Taking into account that self-concept can be conceived as the images we have of ourselves (e.g., capabilities, attitudes and values) in different existential spheres (Sung, 2011), and that what we believe to be the overall framework of our capabilities and traits (Harter, 1993), the aims of this study is to analyze how the self-representations that adolescents have about themselves influences their social competence in career education situations. Participated in this study 201 adolescents, 78 girls (38.8%) and 123 boys (61.2%), aged between 14 and 23 years (M = 16.07; SD = 1.34). The Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (PHCSCS-2 - Piers & Herzberg, 2002; adapted. Veiga, 2006) and the Social Competency Assessment in Career Scale (PACS-Car; Candeias, Araújo & Taveira, 2009) were used to measure self-concept and perceived career social competence, respectively. The PHCSCS-2 is intended for self-assessment of young people regarding their behavioral, intellectual and school status, physical appearance and attributes, anxiety, popularity, satisfaction and happiness. The PACS-Car measures the level of perceived competence/performance and its relative ease/difficulty in dealing with different interpersonal situations with peers and significant adults, in career education and informal career learning situations. Implications of the results for the design of career interventions that promote ethical questioning of life projects in adolescence are discussed.