1. Adolescents:what they say they want, what they want you to hear, and what really makes them happy Kathryn Williams and Joseph Ciarrochi

2. Some questions about values Are some values ‘healthier’ than others? Idiosyncratic theories Universal theories Humanistic theories What if some values aresubject to social pressure? What is the relationship between values and well-being? How does this change as you grow up?

3. Theory of basic human values (Schwartz, 1992, in Schwartz and Boehnke, 2004)

4. Self-Determination Theory(e.g., Deci & Ryan, 2000) • Relationships • Personal growth • Contributing to the community • Physical health • Autonomous motives • Power • Wealth • Being admired or famous • Hedonism • Controlled motives

5. Longitudinal data from 5 schools Self-, peer- and teacher-report measures and grades for adolescentsaged 12-17 Online surveys of young adults Wollongong Youth Study

6. Survey of Guiding Principles • Based on Schwartz Values Survey • Value importance, pressure, success • Factor analysis (Stefanic 2009) – 7 factors accounting for 76.8% of variance • Based on Schwartz theory and reliability analysis, created three more clusters • Other items are used individually • Total of 30 items/clusters in 13 groups

8. Data analysis • Correlations between value importance, pressure, success and well-being: PANAS-X, Satisfaction With Life Survey • Plotted mean importance and pressure of value items/clusters against correlations

9. Correlations with well-being

10. Importance: female Year 12

11. Importance: female post school

12. Importance: male Year 12

13. Importance: male post school

14. Pressure: female Year 12

15. Pressure: female post school

16. Pressure: male Year 12

17. Pressure: male post school

18. What really makes them happy? • No clear intrinsic/extrinsic divide • Power, sexual desirability, physical fitness, achievement, stimulation are no less rewarding than universalism, love • Girls’ well-being linked to success at ‘Having genuine and close friends’ • Boys’ well-being depends on leadership • Success at socially desirable, pressured values linked with well-being post-school

19. Closing thoughts … • A broad, comprehensive measure of ‘universal’ values is usefulfor identifying valued life directions among adolescentsand young adults • What people tell youis importantis not always linkedto their well-being …