ADOLESCENT PASSAGE TO ADULTHOOD - FUTURE ORIENTATION IN THE CONTEXT OF CULTURE, AGE, AND GENDER

The main objective of the present study has been to examine the future orientation constructed by transition to modernity adolescents in the context of age and gender. To that end we analyzed the hopes and fear s for the future reported by Israeli Druze (N=276) and Jewish (N=308) younger (9th graders) and older (12th graders) adolescents, as cases o f transition to modernity and modern adolescents, respectively. The hy pothesis predicting that Druze adolescents will invest less in the pro spective life course domains (e.g., higher education, work and career) and more in the existential domains (e.g., self) was supported. The h ypothesis postulating that across-age gender differences will be more stable in the Druze than in the Jewish group was not supported. Instea d, interaction effects indicating that older females invested more in adult roles than younger females were found only for the Druze sample. Results were discussed in terms of the cultural, normative developmen tal, and political aspects of the Druze macrosystem and the motivation al principle of least necessary expenditure (Heckhausen, H. (1977). Ac hievement motivation and its constructs: A cognitive model. Motivation and Emotion, 1, 283-329). It has been suggested that Druze adolescent s employ this motivational principle to construct a culturally accepta ble future orientation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights rese rved.