Image of Self and Image of others among Secondary School Students in Dakar

Abstract

With the help of a questionnaire addressed to 1094 secondary school youngsters, we studied adolescents' reactions to opinions of the young and of adults on some themes such as acculturation, social interest, etc. Adolescents' own stands on these matters were also requested. Subjects tended to think that comrades their age were far more acculturated than were they and adults; boys considered they were less culturally assimilated than girls, who felt less assimilated than boys. Boys held that they were more interested in politics than girls. Girls and women were considered particularly sensitive to certain social stimuli such as attaching great importance to what people thought and admiring people who were successful in life. Concerning certain personal characteristics, subjects attributed mostly to boys the love of risk, self-confidence, and reflection prior to action, to adults loneliness, and finally honesty to men. The influence of age and father's socio-economic status was also examined.