Self-efficacy is a key personal resource in individual development and successful adaptation, and it can serve innumerable purposes. Our study investigated levels and change rates in self-efficacy among newcomer and more experienced immigrant adolescents and tested whether acculturation-related and developmental variables explained inter-individual differences in self-efficacy in both groups. The sample comprised 480 newcomer (59% female, 15.8 years old) and 483 experienced (55% female, 15.9 years old) immigrant adolescents, assessed in four annual waves. Latent growth curve models showed newcomers to have lower levels and more pronounced increases of self-efficacy as compared to experienced immigrant adolescents. Both acculturation-related and developmental variables predicted self-efficacy. The results highlight the need for focusing on immigration stages and support the notion of combining developmental and acculturative factors in the study of immigrant adolescents. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Adolescent immigrants self-efficacy Acculturation Developmental transition Adolescence

immigrant human adolescent development immigration statistics and numerical data coping behavior Adaptation, Psychological Self Efficacy Humans migrant psychology Adolescent model Psychology, Adolescent male Emigrants and Immigrants Acculturation child psychology female adolescence self concept cultural factor migration growth curve Emigration and Immigration