engleski

The relation of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations to adolescent life satisfaction

According to the theory of self-determination intrinsic life goals are inherently satisfying to pursue. Studies have shown that individuals who pursue intrinsic life goals are generally more satisfied with their life. The current study examined the content of adolescent aspirations and their associations with an overall life satisfaction and important domains of life satisfaction. The sample included 468 high school students. The participants completed scales that measured their global life satisfaction (Diener, 1984), satisfaction with family, school and friends (Huebner, 1994) and the importance of intrinsic (affiliation, community feeling, physical fitness) and extrinsic (appearance, financial success, social recognition) aspirations (Kasser & Ryan, 1996). The results showed that students placed more importance on intrinsic than on extrinsic life goals. Girls rated the importance of aspirations for meaningful relationships, community contribution, health and attractive appearance more highly than boys. Boys were more oriented toward financial success. Girls reported higher satisfaction with their friends and school than boys. The age of students was negatively related to their global life satisfaction and satisfaction with family, school and friends. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted with students’ gender and age followed by the importance of specific aspirations as predictors of global life satisfaction and satisfaction with important life domains as criterion variables. The findings indicated that students’ global life satisfaction was significantly predicted by a higher importance of health and appearance. Satisfaction with friends was related to students’ orientation toward affiliation. Placing more importance on community feeling and less on aspirations for financial success was associated with higher satisfaction with school. Students whose life goals were more focused on community contribution were more satisfied with their family experiences. Our results highlight the importance of examining differential effects of the content of adolescent life goals on variables associated with their well-being.

intrinsic aspirations; extrinsic aspirations; life satisfaction; adolescents

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