Stability and change of basic personal values in mid-to-late adolescence: A 4-year longitudinal study

Abstract

This paper presents the first longitudinal examination of stability and change in the 19 values of Schwartz’s refined theory. A total of N = 465 high-school students (75% boys) participated in the study. The Portrait Values Questionnaire-Revised was administered four times over three years in mid-to-late adolescence (ages 15–18). We investigated multiple types of stability. At the mean level, Power-Dominance and Universalism-Nature increased significantly in importance compared to the other values. By contrast, the relative importance of Benevolence, Stimulation, Hedonism, and Face decreased significantly. Correlations between the growth parameters of the 19 values showed that change occurred in a coherent and organized manner, mirroring the circular structure of Schwartz’s theory. A medium-to-high degree of rank-order consistency was observed over 3 years, with coefficients ranging from .30 (Self-Direction-Action) to .56 (Conformity-Rules). On average, overall and distinctive profile stabilities were .66 and .45, respectively. Whereas the hierarchical order of values was consistent over time for most adolescents, there were important interindividual differences in stability patterns. The results from this study are discussed and related to earlier findings on value change during adjacent developmental periods. Taken together, they contribute to drawing a roadmap of value development in late adolescence toward early adulthood.

Plain Language Summary

This paper presents the first examination of stability and change in the 19 values of Schwartz’s refined theory over three years in late adolescence (ages 15–18). A total of N = 465 high-school students (75% male) participated in the study. The Portrait Values Questionnaire-Revised was administered four times, annually. We investigated multiple types of stability. On average, Self-direction-Thought, Power-Dominance, Security-Societal, and Universalism-Nature increased significantly in importance compared to the other values. By contrast, the relative importance of Benevolence, Stimulation, Hedonism, and Face decreased significantly. We observed a general tendency for motivationally compatible values to change in the same direction and for those expressing conflicting motivations to change in opposite directions. Differences between persons in the importance assigned to values are moderately stable over the 3 years of the study. The relative importance of values within an individual (i.e., the individual’s value hierarchy) tended to persist over time for most adolescents. However, the degree of stability may vary considerably among individuals. Results are discussed and related to earlier findings on value change during adjacent developmental periods. Taken together, they contribute to drawing a roadmap of value development in late adolescence toward early adulthood.

Keywords

Adolescence change development stability values

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