Psychology

Ideological Views in Emerging Adulthood: Balancing Autonomy and Community

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Ideological views of 140 emerging adults (ages 20-29) were explored, using the ethics of Autonomy, Community, and Divinity. Two questions were asked as part of an interview: "When you get toward the end of your life, what would you like to be able to say about your life, looking back on it?" and "What values or beliefs do you think are the most important to pass on to the next generation?" Overall, emerging adults used Autonomy and Community in roughly equal proportions, whereas Divinity was used relatively infrequently. Use of Autonomy was negatively correlated with use of Community on both questions, but the correlations were modest, and some emerging adults were able to reconcile the two ethics. Qualitative examples are presented to illustrate the findings of the study, and the findings are discussed in the context of claims about American individualism.

Publication Title

Journal of Adult Development

Publication Date

2001

Volume

8

Issue

2

First Page

69

Last Page

79

ISSN

1068-0667

DOI

10.1023/A:1026460917338

Keywords

collectivism, community, identity, individualism, young adults

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