Wang Xiaofeng, Fu Rui, Wu Aruna, Li Dan
Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200030, China.
Counseling and Psychological Services Center, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai 201701, China.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 Apr 11;13(4):326. doi: 10.3390/bs13040326.
Adolescence is a developmental period when individuals actively evaluate and construct their life goals. During the past several decades, China has transformed dramatically toward a highly competitive, market-oriented society. Despite a growing interest in exploring the implications of cultural values for youth adjustment in contemporary China, little is known about what life goals are prevalent among Chinese adolescents. This mixed-methods study aimed to identify the key themes of life goals and to examine gender, grade, and urban-rural differences in the identified themes among Chinese adolescents, using quantitative and qualitative methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 163 middle- and high-school students in urban and rural China. Thirteen key life goal themes were identified; among them, the most mentioned themes were Family Well-being, Academic Excellence, and Personal Happiness. Quantitative results showed grade and urban-rural differences in the adolescents' endorsement of the themes of life goals. Specifically, more middle schoolers and rural students endorsed life goals that emphasize social belonging and group well-being, whereas more high schoolers and urban students endorsed life goals that underscore individual independence and uniqueness. These results indicated the implications of social change for adolescents' life goals in contemporary China.
青春期是一个个体积极评估和构建人生目标的发展阶段。在过去几十年里，中国已大幅转变为一个竞争激烈、以市场为导向的社会。尽管人们越来越有兴趣探讨文化价值观对当代中国青少年适应的影响，但对于中国青少年中普遍存在的人生目标却知之甚少。这项混合方法研究旨在确定人生目标的关键主题，并使用定量和定性方法研究中国青少年在这些已确定主题上的性别、年级和城乡差异。对中国城乡163名中学生和高中生进行了半结构化访谈。确定了13个关键人生目标主题；其中，提及最多的主题是家庭幸福、学业优异和个人幸福。定量结果显示了青少年对人生目标主题认同上的年级和城乡差异。具体而言，更多的初中生和农村学生认同强调社会归属感和群体幸福的人生目标，而更多的高中生和城市学生认同强调个人独立性和独特性的人生目标。这些结果表明了社会变革对当代中国青少年人生目标的影响。
