Adolescents' well-being and perceived control across 14 sociocultural contexts.
The sweeping sociopolitical changes in Eastern Europe and the importance of self-related resources in facilitating adolescents' transitions to adulthood motivated this study on the effects of sociocultural context on adolescents' perceived control and well-being (N = 3,844; 7 Western contexts, 7 Eastern). The authors found that the mean levels of well-being and perceived control varied along stable Western vs. unstable Eastern sociohistorical contexts: (a) Eastern adolescents showed lower levels of well-being (perhaps related to economic aspects of change) and (b) higher levels of perceived control (perhaps related to perceived freedoms implied in the direction of change). Notably, however, the individual-difference relations (correlations) among the constructs were very uniform across the 14 settings, suggesting that the adaptive psychological interface between well-being and personal control is relatively robust against sociopolitical influences.
Grob
Alexander
A
U Bern.
Little
Todd D
TD
Wanner
Brigitte
B
Wearing
Alexander J
AJ
D000293:Adolescent; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D011057:Politics; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012649:Self Concept; D012922:Social Change; D012931:Social Environment