An Investigation of Developmental Goals and Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to investigate emerging adulthood from a goal-setting perspective in the frame of a developmental regulation model. The sample consisted of 396 participants aged between 18 and 30 years. The participants were administered a battery that consisted of Self-Esteem Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Loneliness Scale, Brief Symptom Inventory and questions to determine their life goals and appraisals of these goals. Both future and pasts goals were assessed. Qualitative data analysis indicated that emerging adults’ future goals were mostly related to occupation, education and family and their previous goals were frequently related to education and occupation. Furthermore, older or engaged/married participants stated goals related to family, while single participants most frequently stated goals related with occupation. The study revealed that life satisfaction of the goal engagement participants was significantly higher than those of the goal striving participants. The results showed that young adults set goals appropriate to properties of their developmental period. Furthermore, the results were emphasized the importance of goal appraisals and goal engagement for emerging adults’ well-being. 

Keywords

• Developmental regulation model,developmental goals,well-being,emerging adulthood

Gelişimsel Hedefler ve İyilik Halinin Beliren Yetişkinlerde İncelenmesi

Öz

Araştırmanın temel amacı gelişimsel düzenleme modeli çerçevesinde beliren yetişkinlik dönemini hedef belirleme perspektifinden incelemektir. Çalışmanın örneklemi, yaşları 18 ile 30 arasında değişen 396 katılımcıdan oluşmaktadır. Katılımcılara Benlik Saygısı, Yaşam Doyumu, Yalnızlık Ölçeği ve Kısa Semptom Envanteri ile yaşam hedefleri ve bu hedeflere ilişkin değerlendirmelerini içeren bir form uygulanmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında bireylerin hem gelecekteki hem de geçmişteki hedefleri değerlendirilmiştir. Yürütülen niteliksel veri analizi sonucunda, beliren yetişkinlerin geleceğe yönelik en çok meslek, eğitim ve aileyle; geçmişte ise en çok eğitim ve meslek yaşamlarıyla ilgili hedeflere sahip oldukları ortaya konulmuştur. Çalışma kapsamında geçmişte belirlediği hedefe ulaşan grubun yaşam doyumunun hedefi elde etmek için çaba harcamaya devam eden grubunkinden anlamlı olarak daha yüksek olduğu ortaya konulmuştur. Gelişimsel hedefler açısından elde edilen sonuçlar, genç bireylerin içinde bulundukları gelişimsel dönemin özelliklerine uygun hedefler belirlediklerine işaret etmektedir. Sonuçlar ayrıca, hedefe ilişkin değerlendirmeler ve hedefe ulaşmanın beliren yetişkinlerin iyilik hali açısından önemine işaret etmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• gelişimsel düzenleme modeli,gelişimsel hedefler,iyilik hali,beliren yetişkinlik

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