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Well-Being of Youth and Emerging Adults across Cultures pp 61–73Cite as

The Relationship Between Well-Being and Value Priorities as Well as Intersubjective Norms Among Emerging Adults in South Africa

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Part of the book series: Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology ((CAPP,volume 12))

Abstract

Emerging adults are at a vital stage in their personal development as they work towards negotiating their personal values and goals with those of their social groups, significant others and the society at large. The chapter examined the association between value priorities and well-being among emerging adults in South Africa, who grow up in a multicultural, multilingual country to which they are exposed to groups who are different to theirs. A total of 192 (35% male, M Age  = 20.41 years, SD = 1.76) participants were recruited. Results indicated that personal value priorities correlated significantly with life satisfaction, positive and negative affect but not mental health. Intersubjective norms (perceived value priorities of significant others and society) showed no association with well-being. The effects of incongruence between reported personal value priorities and those of significant others were non-significant. We conclude that, personal values are more important for well-being than perceived values of significant others and larger society.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In line with the South African legislation, Black includes participants of African, Mixed Racial (Coloured), and Indian/Asian descent. Therefore, all participants of non-European descent. Groups are classified in this way to account for their different historical experience that have contributed towards the current social, political asnd economic divisions (Eaton & Louw, 2000; Seekings, 2008)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Byron G. Adams

  2. University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Byron G. Adams

  3. Centre for Applied Cross-Cultural Research, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Ronald Fischer

  4. Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Amina Abubakar

Authors
  1. Byron G. Adams
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  2. Ronald Fischer
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  3. Amina Abubakar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Byron G. Adams .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Radosveta Dimitrova

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Adams, B.G., Fischer, R., Abubakar, A. (2017). The Relationship Between Well-Being and Value Priorities as Well as Intersubjective Norms Among Emerging Adults in South Africa. In: Dimitrova, R. (eds) Well-Being of Youth and Emerging Adults across Cultures . Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68363-8_5

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