Personal goal orientations and subjective well-being of adolescents

The present study examines the types of orientation that can be identified according to the personal goals of adolescents, and how these orientations differ in their subjective well-being. In the context of the person-oriented approach, 1144 17-year-olds (565 girls, 579 boys) filled in the revised Little's personal project analysis, school burnout, depression, life satisfaction, and self-esteem inventories. Four goal orientations emerged from this data with cluster analysis: (1) property (40%), (2) vocation (24%), (3) social relationships and future education (23%), and (4) self-focused (13%) orientations. Boys were the majority in the property and the vocation orientations, whereas girls dominated in the social relationships and future education- and the self-orientations. Those in the self-orientation group were the most burned out, had most symptoms of depression and the lowest life satisfaction and self-esteem compared with other orientations. Orientations indicate the basic needs for competence (property and vocation orientations), relatedness (social relationships and future education orientation) and autonomy (self-focused orientation) (Deci & Ryan, 2000). The time perspective is addressed on the basis of goal orientations reflecting the past (self-ruminating goals), the present (relationships and current education) or the future (upcoming education and wealth).