What Do They Want in Life?: The Life Goals of a Multi-Ethnic, Multi-Generational Sample of High School Seniors

• NCJ Number: 214981
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 321-332
• Author(s): Esther S. Chang; Chuansheng Chen; Ellen Greenberger; David Dooley; Jutta Heckhausen
• Date Published: June 2006
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined similarities in the life goals of a sample of graduating high-school seniors by gender, ethnicity, and generational status (i.e., whether they and/or their parents were born in the United States).

Abstract

This study reflects the findings of previous studies that have found educational and occupational goals to be dominant among adolescents. Additional goals idenified were: to establish independence, begin a family, secure material goods, and become self-fulfilled. The perception of control over their lives was generally high, and they anticipated reaching most of their goals before age 33. The authors advise that since this study involved high-school seniors about to graduate, the findings may not reflect the life goals of adolescents in general. Across all ethnic groups, the average long-term education goal was to go to a 4-year college. On average, females of all ethnicities rated their education goals of higher priority than males. Contrary to hypotheses, females from East/Southeast Asian and Latino groups that are traditionally assumed to be more family-oriented chose fewer family-related goals than male counterparts, who chose family-related goals more than other ethnic groups. There were significant ethnic differences in expectations about actually finishing college. Latino students reported relatively lower long-term education expectations. Socioeconomic status had a more detrimental effect on Latino adolescents' educational goals. The study was based on the first wave of data collected in a longitudinal study of personal and social resources and liabilities of high-school seniors who were all within 1 month of graduation in the spring of 2002. The final sample consisted of 932 students with a mean age of 17.8 years. Six ethnic groups were represented: White, African-American, Mexican-American, other Latino-Americans, Filipino-Americans, and East/Southeast Asian-Americans. 4 tables, 1 figure, and 45 references