Establishing self-concordant goals: a longitudinal study on the influence of ego identity on goal self-concordance

Introduction

Self-concordant goals are those that align closely with an individual's intrinsic interests and values, driving autonomous motivation, and resulting in higher satisfaction and goal achievement. The relevance of studying the link between ego identity and goal self-concordance lies in understanding how a well-defined ego identity can foster the pursuit of authentic and fulfilling goals.

Objectives

This study investigates the relationship between ego identity and goal self-concordance, focusing on how individuals' sense of identity influences their alignment with personal goals.

Methods

Data were gathered through a cross-sectional analysis of 292 students and a longitudinal follow-up with 98 participants over two intervals.

Results

Results confirmed significant correlations between ego identity status and various dimensions of goal self-concordance. Notably, different ego identity statuses exhibited distinct levels of goal self-concordance, ranked from highest to lowest as follows: identity achievement, achievement-foreclosure intermediate, moratorium, foreclosure, moratorium-diffusion intermediate, and diffusion. Cross-lagged analysis revealed a causal relationship where ego identity influences goal self-concordance, providing insights into the cognitive and behavioral processes involved in goal setting.

Discussion

This study extends the implications of the goal self-concordance model and reveals a causal relationship between ego identity status and goal self-concordance. From a practical perspective, our findings suggest that educational and developmental interventions aimed at supporting identity development and commitment could lead to more self-concordant goal setting. Such programs could ultimately promote greater well-being and personal growth among students.

Toward building a better scaffold: how types of mentor support inform mentor-mentee match relationship quality

In the field of youth mentoring, mentor support, as an important scaffold for youth development, is linked to match relationship quality between mentors and mentees. This study examined associations between the support provided by different categories of mentors and internal match quality among 240 mentors in youth mentoring programs. Four clusters of mentors emerged, representing different combinations of purposes for mentor-mentee interactions. Mentors who focused less on the character development of their mentees showed reduced benefits in other forms of interactions, such as fun, sharing, future outlook, or academics in promoting high overall mentor-mentee internal match quality, including relational quality and instrumental quality. While mentors who focused less on future outlook in their mentoring interactions showed reduced benefits for other purposes in promoting internal instrumental quality. These findings were not influenced by mentors' demographic differences such as gender, age, race, and educational background. The significance of the findings for future research and practice is discussed.

Correlated Change in Sense of Purpose and Romantic Relationship Quality

Sense of purpose, or feeling that that one has personally meaningful goals and directions guiding them through life, consistently predicts a variety of desirable well-being, health, and social outcomes. However, work has been limited with respect to evaluating it as a predictor and promoter of romantic relationships, or how purpose may develop in these contexts. For instance, healthy romantic relationships could also help individuals develop and maintain a higher sense of purpose. With cross-sectional evidence finding positive associations between sense of purpose and romantic relationship commitment and satisfaction, the current study expanded on past work by using longitudinal data with three months between two measurement occasions (Time 1: N = 2243; Time 2: N = 1284) to evaluate whether sense of purpose predicted relationship status over time and how changes in relationship quality and sense of purpose were associated. Results showed that greater sense of purpose predicted maintaining a romantic relationship, but did not predict later romantic relationship quality, while higher romantic relationship quality predicted an increase in sense of purpose. Findings are discussed regarding why people with a higher sense of purpose may be more likely to stay in relationships as well as the role that positive romantic relationships may play in helping maintain a higher sense of purpose.

Predicting Positive Youth Development from Self-Regulation and Purpose in Early Adolescence

A Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspective emphasizes adolescents' potential for healthy, successful development. Researchers have introduced a variety of constructs that may promote PYD. For example, Intentional Self-Regulation (ISR) enables youth to seek out and use resources in the environment; purpose can help youth navigate and overcome obstacles. We examine connections between ISR, purpose and two PYD outcomes: confidence and connection. Data come from 763 Scottish youth (ages 12-14). We estimated fixed-effects regression models predicting confidence and connection from both ISR and purpose, confirming outcomes were independently associated with one or both predictors. Our findings are especially salient to the field of youth purpose, linking purpose with specific PYD outcomes.

Development and Validation of the Youth Purpose Orientation Scale Among Chinese Sample

INTRODUCTION

Purpose orientation has an important impact on the development of adolescence. An effective instrument is needed to describe the purpose orientation of youth. The aim of this research is to develop a reliable and valid scale to measure life purpose orientations of youth.

METHODS

Study 1 established a preliminary pool of items based on a literature review, an open-form questionnaire, and some expert opinions. Study 2 used exploratory factor analysis and performed internal consistency and reliability tests. The sample consisted of 442 young Chinese students, divided into males (49.3%) and females (50.7%) with an age range of 13 to 22 years. Study 3 performed confirmatory factor analysis and tested the scale's calibration validity and test-retest reliability. The confirmatory sample comprised 91,635 young Chinese students, divided into males (43.2%) and females (56.5%) with an age range of 12 to 23 years. The calibration validity sample consisted of 572 participants, aged 12 to 22. The test-retest reliability sample consisted of 200 participants.

RESULTS

Through exploratory factor analysis, the four-factor structure revealed contains personal growth, social promotion, family well-being, and personal well-being purpose orientations. This four factor-structure revealed a 65.26% cumulative variance. The four factors' alpha reliability was 0.89 for personal growth, 0.87 for social promotion, 0.86 for family well-being, and 0.87 for personal well-being, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model fitting index had a good four-factor structure. The calibration validity and test-retest reliability were acceptable.

CONCLUSION

These findings demonstrated that the 19-item findings demonstrated that the Youth Purpose Orientation Scale is a valid and reliable measure. In future research, it can be used to measure purpose orientation in youth.

Qualitative Purpose Profiles of Chinese Student Teachers

Teachers are well positioned to help students cultivate their purpose in life, which is an asset that is associated with optimal development. Teachers must also have a grasp on their own sense of purpose, especially during times of intense social pressure and change, when the capability to sustain and support worthy aims may impart personal resilience and contribute to the social good. To train educators who have this capability, it is therefore vital for teacher education programs to in turn understand their own students' individualized purpose statuses. Using a qualitative person-centered approach, the current study identified purpose profiles of teacher education candidates in China as part of a larger multinational study. Three hundred and thirty-one participants wrote answers to questions about the content and fulfillment of their purpose in life, and statements were reliably coded for how specifically the respondents referenced their purpose, and for whether their purpose aimed to benefit others. A consensual qualitative research approach then identified four purpose profiles: beyond-the-self purpose, self-oriented life goal, daydreamer and purposeless. The meaning of these profiles and their significance for cultivating purpose among China's teachers are discussed.

The R and R of Purpose in College Students: Refining and Redefining Purpose Over Time

This qualitative descriptive study examined the process of purpose development of nine (seven females, two males; Mage = 20.2, age range 18–21 years) college students who completed interviews in fall 2017 and spring 2019 at a private university. Across the two time points, participants engaged in an iterative process that led them to refine (i.e., narrow or specify) or redefine (i.e., change or adapt) their purpose or ultimate aims. Participants used the time between interviews to restructure their purpose in a way that integrated their experiences until they believed their purpose was best aligned with their skills, values, and interests. More specifically, consensual qualitative research analysis revealed seven themes that suggested ways in which participants acted to refine and/or redefine their purposes: (1) clarifying definition of purpose; (2) engaging known strengths or skills; (3) exploring new activities or experiences; (4) identifying a beyond-the-self intention that aligned with their purpose; (5) discerning the fit between their passions and interests with their circumstance or plans; (6) determining whether their strengths and skills aligned well with their purpose; and (7) integrating their passions into their beyond-the-self intention. A supplemental theme was added that outlines researchers’ observations about the features of participants’ purpose.

Purpose Trajectories During Middle Adolescence: The Roles of Family, Teacher, and Peer Support

While studies on youth's purpose have flourished in the last two decades, the work was mostly cross-sectional and derived from Western settings. This research examined the developmental trajectories of purpose exploration and commitment of Taiwanese youth during middle adolescence, with a focus on how they associate with youth's psychological functioning in terms of life satisfaction and depressive symptoms and whether social support moderates such development. A total of 369 vocational high school students in Taiwan (45% females; M_age = 15.82 years) participated in a four-wave study spanning two years with a one-semester interval. The results of piecewise growth curve modeling in the context of structural equation modeling suggested that purpose commitment increased over 10^th grade, decreased initially in 11^th grade, and then continued to increase. Purpose exploration similarly increased over 10^th grade, but after the initial 11^th grade dip remained stable. In addition to the higher initial levels, the steeper the rate of purpose exploration and commitment ascent and the slighter the rate of reduction predicted enhanced youth life satisfaction. The trajectory of purpose commitment also predicted reduced depressive symptoms, but such effects did not occur for purpose exploration. Moreover, multi-group analyses revealed that the more family, teacher, and peer support youth perceived, the more likely youth explored and committed to purpose over time.

Measurement Invariance of Claremont Purpose Scale Across Gender Among Indonesian Youth

The present study assesses the factor structure of the Claremont Purpose Scale (CPS)-Indonesian version among youth, the measurement invariance of the Indonesian CPS across gender, and its concurrent validity with wellbeing scales. Though several studies have investigated purpose in life among Indonesian adolescents, few have tested the psychometric properties of the scale. CPS is unique in that it measures purpose as a multidimensional construct, comprising personal meaningfulness, goal directedness, and beyond-the-self orientation. This study tested the Indonesian CPS's measurement invariance between male (N = 245) and female (N = 288) adolescents. The Indonesian CPS, a hierarchical model based on the original version, provided an adequate fit to the data. Using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, full strict invariance could be established. There were no significant differences across gender for purpose or its subscales. Internal consistency of the total score was satisfactory for purpose and its subscales scores. The results showed evidence of concurrent validity with life satisfaction and perceived meaningfulness.

Student Self-Reported Positive Purpose Over Two Years in Urban Middle Schools

We used Developmental Systems Theory as a framework for understanding the role of contextual factors in the development of purpose in urban adolescents. The sample included primarily low-socioeconomic students of color attending urban middle schools (n = 2,629; 10-16 years of age). Longitudinal data were collected at four time points across two years. We used hierarchical linear modeling to model change in purpose. On average, purpose declined over time. We also identified several predictors of intercept and slope. For example, Black youth had a higher average purpose intercept, as well as a steeper average decline than other racial/ethnic groups. Females demonstrated a higher average purpose intercept than males, but this effect disappeared when academic achievement was added to the model.

Fostering mature purpose beyond the classroom: considering family and other institutions in agentic purpose commitment

Abstract This article addresses two questions about purpose in life: what is mature purpose, and how can it be cultivated? We first outline a picture of mature purpose based in part on established purpose research, and point out new frameworks that can resolve missing pieces and tensions in the current paradigms. We contend that above and beyond fulfilling discrete criteria present in operational definitions, mature purpose requires agentic yet flexible commitment to worthy goals rather than simplistic adoption of expected goals. A review of purpose formation beyond the classroom identifies similar roles of parents, post-secondary educational institutions, and extracurricular activities for supporting development of mature purpose in the direction of agentic commitment, namely, encouraging processes of: active exploration, tentative commitment, and support in navigating and sustaining meaningful commitment.

Purposes in life of young Brazilians: identities and values in context

Abstract The aim of the article was to analyze the purposes in life of young Brazilians. A total of 560 students, aged 15-19 years, from the five geopolitical regions of Brazil, answered an open questionnaire developed by the Stanford Center on Adolescence and adapted to the specificities of the research. The data were analyzed using the Theory of Organizing Models of Thinking, which enabled us to identify six models of purposes. Most young people expressed their life purposes as a natural course of life or as an idealized dream; most of them also presented a self-centered view of their purposes, focused on their own accomplishments. The results reveal an association between life purposes and identity of young Brazilians in the interaction with collective values, particularly regarding the overcoming of economic difficulties and financial achievements.

Development of a fostering purpose intervention

Evolutionary Evaluation is a framework for understanding the evolution of programs. Just as programs grow and develop, so can standalone interventions. This paper focused on building and evaluating a purpose intervention to scaffold adolescents and young adults' search for purpose. Four studies were conducted at each phase of the intervention's lifespan to assess if modifications were needed and to test the viable validity of using online activities to increase both the search for and the discovery of a purpose in life. These studies can be viewed through the lens of the Evolutionary Evaluation framework. Study 1 evaluated the intervention at its initiation phase, which consisted of developing and testing the intervention activities. Study 2 tested the intervention during the development phase to determine which activities most effectively increased rates of purpose. Study 3 evaluated the intervention in its stability phase by experimentally testing all activities together in a full curriculum via Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Finally, study 4 assessed the dissemination of the intervention by testing the full curriculum with over 500 high school and college students. These studies suggest that the fostering purpose intervention cultivated purpose among adolescents and young adults. Additionally, the success of the intervention demonstrates that the Evolutionary Evaluation framework may be an effective model with which to develop an intervention, from initiation through dissemination phases.

Purpose Among Youth From Low-Income Backgrounds: A Mixed Methods Investigation

Theoretical and empirical research lead to conflicting perspectives on whether youth from low-income backgrounds are likely to have access to lives of purpose. To explore this issue, this study used data collected during the 2016-2017 academic year from a sample of Southern California youth. Findings suggest (a) youth from low-income communities are as likely as youth from middle-income communities to report leading lives of purpose; (b) purpose among low-income youth is associated with many of the same indicators of positive development as it is among middle-income youth; and (c) youth from low-income backgrounds encounter personal hardships that, in the presence of familial support and other developmental assets, can inspire purpose. Implications for purpose-fostering interventions among low-income youth are discussed.

Transcendent motivations and virtue development in adolescent marathon runners

OBJECTIVE

To understand how health, prosocial, and spiritual motivations correspond to changes in the virtues of self-control, patience, and interpersonal generosity among adolescents and emerging adults.

METHOD

Participants included adolescent and emerging adult athletes (N = 396; 12-22 years, M = 18.42, SD = 2.03) on marathon training teams fundraising for a faith-based charity. Participants completed self-report questionnaires four times over six months. Participants were 63% female and identified as 61% Caucasian, 17% Latino/a, 10% African American, 6% Asian American, and 6% other.

RESULTS

Bivariate latent growth curve models showed positive relations between baseline levels of transcendent motivations (spiritual, prosocial) and all three virtues (self-control, patience, interpersonal generosity) as well as baseline health motivation and self-control. Linear slopes in all three motivations were positively correlated with change in patience, and greater decreases in these motivations from wave 1 to wave 2 before recovering motivation in subsequent waves correlated with less change in patience. Only the linear slope in prosocial motivation positively correlated with change in generosity. None of the motivation slopes correlated with change in self-control.

CONCLUSIONS

More than just sport participation is required to cultivate virtue in adolescents; instead, transcendent and non-transcendent motivations are concurrently developing for athletes who increase in prosocial virtues.

Investigation of the Effects of Purpose in Life, Grit, Gratitude, and School Belonging on Mental Distress among Chinese Emerging Adults

Given the high prevalence of mental distress indicators, such as depression, among emerging adults, it is imperative to identify not only factors that place them at risk for mental distress, but also those that protect against it. This study tested the direct and indirect effects (via purpose in life) of gratitude, two aspects of grit (i.e., consistency of interest and perseverance of effort), and school belonging on three indicators of mental distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress). A total of 468 Chinese university students (58.3% female), aged 18 to 27, in Macao, China responded to an anonymous questionnaire between April to May, 2016. As expected, all psychosocial factors were negatively associated with all three indicators of mental distress (r = -0.15 to -0.42, p < 0.05), with the exception of perseverance of effort, which had a significant, negative association with depression only. The results of path analysis showed that purpose in life significantly mediated the effect of school belonging and perseverance of effort on depression, whereas school belonging, gratitude, and consistency of interest all had direct effects on all three indicators of mental distress (p < 0.05). Our results also suggested that the two components of grit may have differential effects on mental distress among Chinese emerging adults. School-based programs should consider positive psychology interventions in Chinese populations.

Moral judgment, political ideology and collective action

This study aimed to further the understanding of the processes involved in activism, as a form of collective action, based on differences in the quality of moral judgment and political ideology. It began with the assumption that differences in the quality of moral judgment can lead individuals to engage in different forms of collective action: activism or radicalism. Therefore, the associations among the variables political ideology, social identity, perception of social justice, activist identity and commitment, personal political salience, perception of efficacy and life purpose were analyzed. Path modelling was used to construct two models of political action: one based on conventional moral judgment and conservative political ideology, and the other based on post-conventional moral judgment and egalitarian political ideology. These two models were tested on samples of Brazilian and Spanish youths. The results confirmed the validity of using developmental social psychology to understand activism as a form of political action. The results confirmed the central hypothesis that differences in the quality of moral judgment and in political ideology are related to willingness to engage in qualitatively different types of actions: young people with conventional moral judgment and conservative political ideology declared their intention to engage in activism, while young people with post-conventional moral judgment egalitarian political ideology reported the intention to engage in both activist and radical actions.

Having It All? A Qualitative Examination of Affluent Adolescent Girls’ Perceptions of Stress and Their Quests for Success

This study sought to better understand the relationship between affluence and elevated risk for psychosocial distress among adolescent girls. In-depth qualitative interviews at two time points with three cohorts of girls (sixth-, eighth-, and 10th grade; T1 n = 57, T2 n = 58) from two independent girls schools Grades 6 to 12, along with their parents, and their teachers were conducted. Through narrative thematic analysis, four overarching sources of significant stress were identified: (a) pervasive experiences of pressures to perform, (b) narrow constructions of success, (c) peer competition, and (d) misalignments in expectations between some girls and their parents. These pressures were even more heightened among the older girls. Although all of the girls reported experiencing these stressors, those girls who reported a more other-oriented sense of purpose also reported stronger connections with peers and seemed better able to manage the pressures.

Integrity in and Beyond Contemporary Higher Education: What Does it Mean to University Students?

Research has focused on academic integrity in terms of students’ conduct in relation to university rules and procedures, whereas fewer studies examine student integrity more broadly. Of particular interest is whether students in higher education today conceptualize integrity as comprising such broader attributes as personal and social responsibility. We collected and analyzed qualitative responses from 127 students at the National University of Singapore to understand how they define integrity in their lives as students, and how they envisage integrity would be demonstrated in their lives after university. Consistent with the current literature, our data showed that integrity was predominantly taken as “not plagiarizing (in school)/giving appropriate credit when credit is due (in the workplace)”, “not cheating”, and “completing tasks independently”. The survey, though, also revealed further perceptions such as, in a university context, “not manipulating data (e.g., scientific integrity)”, “being honest with others”, “group work commitments”, “conscience/moral ethics/holding true to one’s beliefs”, “being honest with oneself”, “upholding a strong work ethic”, “going against conventions”, and “reporting others”, as well as, in a workplace context, “power and responsibility and its implications”, “professionalism”, and “representing or being loyal to an organization”. The findings suggest that some students see the notion of integrity extending beyond good academic conduct. It is worthwhile to (re)think more broadly what (else) integrity means, discover the gaps in our students’ understanding of integrity, and consider how best we can teach integrity to prepare students for future challenges to integrity and ethical dilemmas.

Process and Positive Development

Volunteering among university students is an important expression of civic engagement, but the impact of this experience on the development of emerging adults requires further contextualization. Adopting interpretative phenomenological analysis as a qualitative research approach, we carried out semistructured interviews with 10 students of one Irish university who were highly engaged in volunteering. Their experience of volunteering unfolded through relatively open-ended leadership positions in university student-led societies, comparatively structured community roles, or a combination of both. The findings describe a process initiated by the decision to volunteer, a discrete task based on motives, previous history, and exposure to opportunities. The positive impact of volunteering was described through the outcomes of commitment, competence, and connection. While concerned with the values of civic engagement, the perceived self-coherence and purposefulness attributed to volunteering also referenced personal development motives. The findings are interpreted in light of the volunteer process model, positive youth development, and civic engagement. These perspectives are relevant in considering college student volunteering as an experience that can promote successful developmental transition by having a positive impact on personal identity.

How Supportive of Their Specific Purposes Do Youth Believe Their Family and Friends Are?

Prior studies have found that youth reporting a general sense that “I have a purpose” also describe having social supports that enhance thriving. This study links specific social supports to specific purposes described by youth. We examined whether developmental level, social-structural supports of gender and ethnicity, and close relationship supports of family and friends explained (a) how likely youth were to describe three dimensions of a specific purpose content (intention, engagement, and beyond-the-self reasons), and (b) how youth with specified purposes used social supports to pursue those purposes. Youth in higher grade levels were more likely to describe their future plans, activities that pursued those plans, and reasons that considered consequences to others as well as themselves. Non-White ethnicity and higher friend support also increased the likelihood of youth expressing future plans. Youth with purposes sought or created—then integrated into a tailored support network— purpose-specific benefits from their families, opportunities to engage, and institutions.