AGE-DIFFERENCES IN ADOLESCENT IDENTITY EXPLORATION AND COMMITMENT IN URBAN AND RURAL ENVIRONMENTS

Sociocultural context may play an important role in identity developme nt by shaping the opportunities adolescents are facing. To examine thi s, adolescents living in urban and rural environments were compared in terms of age differences in identity exploration and commitment. Youn ger (13-14-year-olds) and older (16-17-year-olds) males and females fr om urban and rural areas in both Australia (n=367) and Finland (n=316) were investigated. The participants completed the Exploration and Com mitment Questionnaire which includes items concerning future education , occupation and family. The results showed that the older youths livi ng in Australian urban environments showed higher levels of exploratio n and commitment concerning both their future education and occupation than the younger ones, whereas there was an age-related decrease in t hese variables among adolescents living in Australian rural areas. No urban us. rural differences were found for Finnish adolescents. (C) 19 96 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents