Autonomy and Effect on Adolescents Socialization into Economic Independence Among the Bamileke of West Cameroon

Purpose: Investigating autonomy and adolescent socialization into economic independence provides insights into the complex processes of identity formation, self-discovery and social integration. Research findings can inform parents, educators and policymakers on how to promote healthy autonomy development and socialization in adolescents leading to better outcomes in academic, social and emotional domains. The knowledge on autonomy can help identify factors that contribute to or protect against adolescent problems such as substance abuse, mental health issues or antisocial behaviour. Understanding the interplay between autonomy and socialization during adolescent can inform the development of targeted interventions aimed at promoting positive youth development, preventing problem behaviours or supporting adolescents facing specific challenges. Investigating autonomy and socialization across different cultural, socioeconomic, environmental contexts can reveal how these factors influence adolescent development and inform culturally sensitive practices. By understanding how autonomy and socialization intersect, researchers can identify ways to promote mental health, well-being and resilience in adolescents, contributing to a heathier and more supportive society. Findings from such study can guide the development of policies and programs aimed at supporting adolescent development such as youth empowerment initiative, mentoring programs or community-based services. This study sought to examine the effect of autonomy on adolescent socialization into economic independence among the Bamileke of West Cameroon. The ecological theory of Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979) provided the theoretical underpinning of this study.
Materials and methods: The study adopted the concurrent nested mixed method research design which is an approach that requires both qualitative and quantitative data to be collected at the same time or in parallel within the same study. Quantitatively a questionnaire was used to test the effect of autonomy on adolescent socialization among the Bamileke of West Cameroon while qualitatively a semi-structured interview was conducted with 16 parents. The study side was the Bamileke society of the West region of Cameroon. With regard to sample 384 adolescents and 16 parents were recruited from 8 selected villages (Bamedousso, Bamekoue, Bamougong, Bangang, Bamendjing, Bamenyam, Bamessingue, Balatchi) of the Bamboutos Division in the West Region of Cameroon. The sampling techniques used for the study were the simple random sampling, the purposive sampling and the snow ball sampling. Therefore, in the Bamboutos Division which is made up of four sub-divisions which are Babadjou, Batcham, Ngalim and Mbouda, the villages were selected though simple random sampling whereby the names of the villages were written on pieces of papers, reshuffled and selected. Adolescents were purposively selected because the researcher identified some of the characteristics, she was looking for such as adolescents staying with their parents with age bracket 15 to 20. Parents were selected through snowball sampling because adolescents assisted the researcher in identifying other parents. A questionnaire with determined internal reliability coefficient was used for information gathering. Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings: Results show that autonomy was able to explain the variations in economic independence at 86.4%. Analysis also suggested that a unit increase in the level of autonomy will increase socialization into economic independence at 1.031 units. Furthermore, results confirmed the model as a good fit (F= 111.567), consequently the null hypothesis was rejected.
Implications to theory, practice and policy: Understanding autonomy and adolescent socialization can refine theories of adolescent development such as self-determination theory and social learning theory. Recognizing the interplay between autonomy and adolescent socialization highlights the importance of considering contextual factors in developmental theories. Incorporating cultural variations can enrich theoretical frameworks and promote more nuanced understanding of adolescent development. Parents and caregivers can foster healthy autonomy development by balancing guidance with gradual increases in independence and decision-making opportunities. Educators can promote autonomy-supportive learning environments, encouraging student autonomy, self-regulation and motivation. Mental health and counsellors can focus on autonomy related issues such as self-esteem, identity and decision making. Community-based programs can design activities and services that promote autonomy, socialization and positive youth development. Policymakers can develop and implement policies that promote autonomy- learning environments such as student – centered learning and flexible curriculum design. Governments and organizations can establish initiatives that foster adolescent autonomy such as youth leadership programs, mentorship schemes and community engagement projects. Policies can be developed to protect adolescent’s rights to autonomy, dignity, self-determination while ensuring their safety and well-being.