Abstract
Several measures assessing different facets of young people’s aspirations and expectations have reached conflicting conclusions regarding their impact on their lives. This study aims to survey the theoretical background, internal structure, and psychometric properties of measures that assess aspirations and expectations of adolescents and emerging adults. We searched three online databases for psychometric studies on psychological measures that assess adolescents’ and/or emerging adults’ aspirations and/or expectations through a deductive and thematic approach. The eligibility study resulted in 12 articles reporting the psychometric properties of five measures. The measures were grouped based on the similarities of their theoretical backgrounds. Findings suggest that the measures’ theoretical background has a direct impact on their content. Internal structures and items may be sensitive to cross-cultural adaptation. The included measures have psychometric limitations regarding the selection of methods for the estimation, retention, and rotation of factors/components. Reliability evidence was mostly tested by Cronbach’s alpha. Future studies may refine the measures present in this study or overcome their limitations through the construction of new measures.
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Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed. The study consists of a scoping review.
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Vinicius Coscioni conceived the study and participated in its coordination, in acquisition and interpretation of the data, drafted the manuscript, and made the substantial reviews after editorial decisions; Bruno Capão de Oliveira participated in study design and coordination, in data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation, and drafted the manuscript; Guilherme Marques participated in the analysis and interpretation of the data; José Manuel Tomás da Silva participated in its coordination and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Coscioni, V., de Oliveira, B.C., Marques, G. et al. Aspirations and expectations measures for adolescents and emerging adults: A scoping review. Curr Psychol 42, 24582–24598 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03576-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03576-z