Experiencia escolar y orientación hacia la autoridad institucional en la adolescencia

Resumo

The aims of the research are (a) to establish whether a single general factor underlying attitudes toward institutional authority in school and wider social contexts can be identified; (b) to examine what are the elements of adolescent school experience that shape his/her orientation toward institutional authority; and (c) to determine the nature of the influence of sociodemographic variables, political attitudes and self-esteem on adolescent's orientation toward formal authority. The sample comprises 535 Valencian adolescent males and females with ages ranging from 12 to 19 years, who were given several questionnaires assessing different facets of their school experience, political attitudes and orientation toward institutional authority. Several Principal Components Analyses and a Multiple Regression Analysis on orientation to authority were performed. Results suggest that school experience in a formal educational system plays a key role in introducing adolescents into the dynamics of institutional systems and shaping their orientation toward them.