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Purpose development among Finnish adolescents.

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Title: Purpose development among Finnish adolescents.
Authors: Viljanen, Merja (AUTHOR), Kuusisto, Elina (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Moral Education. Jun2026, Vol. 55 Issue 2, p294-312. 19p.
Subjects: Goal (Psychology), Social responsibility, Teenagers, Identity (Psychology), Finns, Gender differences (Sociology), Parental influences, Ambition
Abstract: This study investigates the development of Finnish adolescents' perceptions of their life purposes and is based on a concept where purpose is understood as a long-term intention to accomplish something significant to the self while contributing to society. We follow 73 adolescents' responses to online surveys in 2020 (N = 843) and 2022 (n = 73). At both timepoints, four purpose profiles were identified: Purposeful, Self-oriented, Dreamer, and Disengaged. Within two years, participants' wish to contribute to the world had increased, with changes towards the Purposeful profile related to higher parental education and towards the Dreamer to female gender. Adolescents' written responses showed at both timepoints that most of the written life purposes included a quest for happiness, development, and a career. Triangulation of the quantitative and qualitative data indicated similarities in purpose development, suggesting that the beyond-the-self orientation manifests later in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Moral Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Purpose development among Finnish adolescents.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Viljanen%2C+Merja%22">Viljanen, Merja</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kuusisto%2C+Elina%22">Kuusisto, Elina</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Moral+Education%22">Journal of Moral Education</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 55 Issue 2, p294-312. 19p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Goal+%28Psychology%29%22">Goal (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+responsibility%22">Social responsibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teenagers%22">Teenagers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Identity+%28Psychology%29%22">Identity (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Finns%22">Finns</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+differences+%28Sociology%29%22">Gender differences (Sociology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parental+influences%22">Parental influences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ambition%22">Ambition</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: This study investigates the development of Finnish adolescents' perceptions of their life purposes and is based on a concept where purpose is understood as a long-term intention to accomplish something significant to the self while contributing to society. We follow 73 adolescents' responses to online surveys in 2020 (N = 843) and 2022 (n = 73). At both timepoints, four purpose profiles were identified: Purposeful, Self-oriented, Dreamer, and Disengaged. Within two years, participants' wish to contribute to the world had increased, with changes towards the Purposeful profile related to higher parental education and towards the Dreamer to female gender. Adolescents' written responses showed at both timepoints that most of the written life purposes included a quest for happiness, development, and a career. Triangulation of the quantitative and qualitative data indicated similarities in purpose development, suggesting that the beyond-the-self orientation manifests later in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Moral Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=194058962
RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/03057240.2024.2391038
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 19
        StartPage: 294
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Goal (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social responsibility
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teenagers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Identity (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Finns
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gender differences (Sociology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parental influences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ambition
        Type: general
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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