A New Psychosocial Variable in Mental Health Studies: Agency

OZET Eylemlilik, kisinin yasaminin yonune iliskin sorumluluk duygusu, yasami icin sorumluluk almasi, kisinin yasami ile ilgili kararlari kontrol edebilme ve bun- larin sorumlulugunu alma konusundaki inanci ve yasamdaki engellerle bas etmede ve sectigi yasam yonunde ilerlemeye iliskin guveni olarak tanimlan- maktadir. Eylemlilik, oz saygi, yasam amaclari, oz-yeterlilik ve ic denetim odagi olmak uzere dort psikolojik yapinin birlesiminden olusan ust bir psiko- lojik yapidir. Literaturde, eylemlilik konusunda oldukca farkli aciklamalar oldugu dikkati cekmektedir. Bu durumun nedeni, kavrama sosyologlar ve psikologlar tarafindan farkli anlamlar yuklenmesi olabilir. Eylemlilik konusuy- la ilgili hem yurtdisindaki hem de Turkiye'deki arastirmalar diger psikososyal calisma konularina gore nispeten azdir. Turkiye'de yapilacak calismalarda eylemlilik diger bir psikososyal degisken olarak dikkate alinmalidir. Anahtar Sozcukler: eylemlilik, kisisel eylemlilik, bireylesme, eylemli kisilik ABSTRACT The term agency has been defined as a sense of responsibility for one's life course, the belief that one is in control of one's decisions and is responsible for their outcomes, and the confidence that one will be able to overcome obstacles that impede one's progress along one's chosen life course. Agency is an upper psychological structure which consists of self-esteem, purpose in life, self-efficacy (ego strength), and internal locus of control. Literature offers quite different explanations for agency concept. The reason of this situation may be the attribution of different meanings to the concept by psychologists and sociologists. When considering the agency literature in Turkey and other countries, it can be said that the number of studies on agency subject is lower than the number of studies on other psychosocial study subjects. Agency