Agency in young adulthood: Intentional self-change among college students

Abstract

Life course research assumes that development and change depend partly on individual agency, but often fails to elaborate. We posit that individuals exercise agency by pursuing self-related goals, specifically by trying to change themselves in ways that they believe will generate more favorable self-conceptions. Drawing upon sociological theories about self and identity, gender, stress and coping, and the life course, and upon psychological theories about goals, we analyze survey data on 376 college students to explore the process of self-change. More men than women pursue achievement-related goals, whereas more women than men seek to increase their self-confidence and to improve their appearance. Aspects of the extant self-conception (positive self-worth, self-deprecation, and self-efficacy) selectively influence individuals' motivations for self-change and their perceptions of their progress toward self-change. Self-deprecation is positively related to changing in order to raise one's self-esteem and to avert the danger of becoming a “feared” self, whereas self-efficacy is positively related to changing in order to increase authenticity and bring one closer to one's ideal self. Self-deprecation increases the perceived difficulty of self-change, whereas positive self-worth and self-efficacy increase expectations of success. Emotion-focused, cognitive strategies for self-change increase expectations of success, but emotion-focused, behavioral strategies decrease it.