Teenagers often ponder their life goals and question who they want to become.
According to a study from the University of Houston, as adolescents transition into young adults, they tend to shift the significance they attribute to various life goals. However, the study reveals that goals related to high prestige and education play a crucial role in driving success and positive development.
achievements. This study by Rodica Damian and her team, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that adolescents who prioritized prestige and education goals had higher levels of educational attainment, income, occupational creativity, occupational prestige, and job complexity after 12 years. The research, led by former graduate student Andreea Sutu with contributions from former UH assistant professor Kevin Hoff and Sif Einarsdóttir of the University of Iceland, is the first of its kind to examine the relationship between life goals and educational success.
Damian and his team discovered that the goals of young people can change over time. Some dreams and goals may fade, while others related to family, relationships, and community remain strong. As people get older, these goals could become even more important.
Damian stated, ”Life goals are expected to change over time and these changes are expected to have consequences for future life outcomes, including occupational outcomes.”
When it comes to educational and occupational outcomes, we can see that changes within individuals can also play a role in predicting the desired educational and occupational attainment beyond adolescent levels,” the study stated.
In order to examine how life goals develop with age and how adolescent levels of goals, as well as their development through young adulthood, are related to educational attainment and occupational outcomes in young adulthood, the study looked at two nationally representative samples of Icelandic youth. These samples were followed longitudinally across 12 years from late adolescence to young adulthood.
The study found that for educational attainment, the strongest effects were associated with education goals. Both the development and the adolescent levels of these goals were important factors in predicting educational and occupational outcomes in young adulthood.
“The initial levels and changes in education goals were found to be linked with educational attainment in both groups,” Damian explained. This suggests that teenagers with higher education goals and those who displayed a more positive change in their education goals tended to achieve higher levels of education in their early adulthood.Furthermore, the study revealed that education and prestige goals were the most reliable indicators of future income, and that changes in these goals over time were the most reliable predictors of future occupational prestige and complexity.
“Our research emphasizes the need to gain a better understanding of the factors that contribute to goal development in adolescents.”ce and early adulthood. Overall, our research on the development of life goals, educational achievement, and career outcomes contributes to both theoretical and practical understanding of the significance of life goals for real-world success,” stated Damian.
