What do you really want? Change in goals and life satisfaction during Emerging Adulthood in Brazil

¿Tienes ganas de qué? Cambios en las metas y en la satisfacción de vida en adultos emergentes en Brasil

Susana Núñez Rodriguez , Luciana Dutra-Thomé , Silvia Helena Koller
Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, (2021), 53, pp. 30-36.
Received 10 July 2020
Accepted 11 March 2021

https://doi.org/10.14349/rlp.2021.v53.4

Resumen

Objetivo e introducción: El objetivo de este artículo fue investigar como diferentes tipos de metas pueden afectar la satisfacción con la vida de adultos emergentes brasileños en diferentes etapas de su desarrollo, y definir qué características ellos asocian con la edad adulta. Método: Participaron 970 jóvenes brasileños con edades entre 18 y 30 años (M  =  22.8; DE  =  3.4). Los instrumentos utilizados fueron un cuestionario sociodemográfico, el Índice de Aspiraciones y la Escala de Satisfacción con la Vida. Ejecutamos un análisis descriptivo para elucidar cuáles fueron las características asociadas con volverse adultos. Luego, ANOVAs para verificar si había diferencia en su endoso de metas intrínsecas o extrínsecas basada en sus características sociodemográficas; y en caso de que la hubiese, si esta afectaba su nivel de satisfacción con la vida. Resultados: Los resultados mostraron que la característica más importante para ser considerado un adulto es ser financieramente independiente y ser responsable de sí mismo, mientras que las menos importantes fueron estar casados y tener hijos. Hubo una diferencia significativa en la importancia que los participantes dieron a las metas intrínsecas, con base en el sexo y la edad. Consistentemente con investigaciones previas, encontramos que dar mayor importancia a metas intrínsecas está positiva y significativamente relacionado con la satisfacción con la vida. Sin embargo, diferentes grupos de metas fueron encontradas como más importantes en diferentes etapas del desarrollo de los jóvenes, y esos cambios, a su vez, tuvieron un efecto significativo en la satisfacción con la vida. Conclusiones: Finalmente, aunque dar importancia a las metas intrínsecas está asociada con una mayor satisfacción con la vida en general. Este estudio contribuyó a reconocer que existen factores individuales y contextuales que impulsan a los jóvenes hacia la elección de dichas metas para atender estas demandas, independientemente de su impacto en la satisfacción con la vida.

Palabras clave:
Metas, adultez emergente, satisfacción con la vida, teoría de la autodeterminación

Abstract

Aim and Introduction:  The aim of this study was to investigate how different types of goals may affect the satisfaction in life of Brazilian emerging adults in different developmental stages and, what characteristics they associate with adulthood. Method: Participants were 970 Brazilian youth aged from 18 to 30 years old (M = 22.8; SD = 3.4). The instruments we used were a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Aspiration Index and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. We performed a descriptive statistical analysis to elicit the characteristics related with becoming an adult, as well as ANOVAs to test if there was a difference between the endorsement of intrinsic or extrinsic goals based on sociodemographic characteristics; and if there was a difference, did it affect their satisfaction with life. Results: Results showed that the most important characteristic to be considered an adult was to be financially independent and to be responsible for oneself, while the least important were to be married and to have children. There was a significant difference in the importance participants gave to intrinsic goals based on sex and age. Consistently with previous research, we found that giving greater importance to intrinsic goals had a positive and significant effect on life satisfaction. However, different sets of goals were deemed important according to the developmental stage youth were in, and these changes had in turn a significant effect on life satisfaction. Conclusions: Finally, we found that prioritizing intrinsic goals contributes to greater life satisfaction in general. This study acknowledges that there are individual and contextual factors that may propel youth to choose their goals in order to attend these demands, regardless of their impact on life satisfaction.

Keywords:
Goals, emerging adulthood, life satisfaction, Self-Determination Theory

Artículo Completo
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