The relationship between sub-dimensions of the life goals with general self-efficacy, life-satisfaction and some variables

Life goals are the things that people try to achieve throughout their lives. Those goals can vary in different ways. General Self-Efficacy is the belief in one's competence to achieve a goal or a task (Bandura, 1994). On the other hand, life satisfaction is generally related to one?s well-being. It is assumed that general self-efficacy and life satisfaction have an important role in determining and achieving one?s life goals. The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between sub-dimensions of the life goals with general self-efficacy and life-satisfaction. In the research, gender, age, perceived academic success and perceived socio-economic level differences in terms of life goals and its sub-dimensions with general self-efficacy and life satisfaction were examined. The sample of this research consists of 526 university students (139 male/ 387 female). 31 item Life Goal Scale (developed by the researcher), Life Satisfaction Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen ve Griffin,1985), General Self-Efficacy Scale (Jarruselam ve Schwarzer,1981)and a personal information form were used for data collection. Correlation analysis was used to investigate the relations among the variables. Differences in gender and age in terms of life goals and its sub-dimensions, general self-efficacy and life satisfaction were examined by using the t-test. The F-test was used to test for differences among variables like perceived academic success and socio-economic levels. The hypotheses were supported by the findings. Life Goals Scale and General Self Efficacy Scale P=.000< 0.05 was found and there was no significant correlation between Life Goals Scale and Life Satisfaction Scale P=.087> 0.05. A positive correlation between Self Efficacy Scale and sub-dimensions of Life Goals Scale was found. The relation between General Self Efficacy and Personal Development, Social Responsibility and individual awareness sub-dimensions of Life Goals Scale was significant p<0.05, whereas, they had no significant relation with Financial Gain and Physical Appearance sub-dimensions of Life Goals Scale p>0.05. While there was a positive correlation between Personal Development, Physical Appearance Social Responsibility and individual awareness sub-dimensions of Life Goals Scale and Life Satisfaction , no significant correlation was observed between Life Satisfaction and Financial Gain sub-dimension of Life Goals Scale. There were also significant differences between gender, life goals and Financial Gain and individual awareness sub-dimensions of Life Goals. There was no significant difference between the Life Goals and gender variable while there was a significant difference between the gender variable and the Individual Awareness sub-dimension of Life Goals Scale. Perceived academic success did not predict Personal Development, Physical Appearance Social Responsibility and individual awareness sub-dimensions of Life Goals Scale but only Financial Gain sub-dimension. While Perceived socio-economic level predicted Life Goals and Financial Gain and Physical Appearance sub-dimensions, it did not significantly predict Personal Development, Social Responsibility and Individual Awareness sub-dimensions. The findings were discussed and suggestions for future researches were givenKey Words: Life Goals, General Self Efficacy, Life Satisfaction.