A probe into Achievement Motivation, Self-Concept and Academic Life Satisfaction of Male and Female School-Going Adolescents – A Comparative Study

Abstract

This research utilized a descriptive survey method with a comparative design to examine the differences in Achievement Motivation, Self-Concept, and Academic Life Satisfaction between male and female school-going adolescents. The study involved a sample of 1,027 Bengali-speaking adolescents, aged 14-16, from classes IX and X in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The instruments used were the Deo-Mohan Achievement Motivation Scale (Deo & Mohan, 1985), the Self-Concept Inventory (Shah, 1986) and the Multidimensional Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale (Huebner et al., 1998). The findings revealed that adolescents generally exhibited high levels of achievement motivation, self-concept, and academic life satisfaction. Importantly, female adolescents scored significantly higher than their male counterparts in all three areas, highlighting a gender difference in these psychological attributes.