The field of psychology has been slow to recognize the importance of purpose for positive youth development Until recently, purpose was understood, if at all, as a means of adapting to threatening conditions rather than as a motivator of good deeds and galvanizer of character growth Moreover, in most psychological studies, purpose has been conflated with personal meaning, a broader and more internally oriented construct This article offers a new operational definition of purpose that distinguishes it from meaning in an internalistic sense, and it reviews the existing psychological studies pertinent to the development of purpose during youth The article identifies a number of urgent questions concerning how—and whether—young people today are acquiring positive purposes to dedicate themselves to and, if so, what the nature of today’s youth purposes might be When Victor Frankl published the English edition of Man’s Search for Meaning in 1959, the book’s instant influence forced psychology to come to terms with the primary importance of high-level belief systems that had been considered derivative or epi-phenomenal by the major theories 1 The notion that ethereal constructs such as “meaning” and “purpose” could make a difference—that they could motivate someone to do something, or even shape a person’s basic choices about how to live—seemed impossibly soft-headed and sentimental to mainstream psychologists of that time If the behaviorist and psychoanalytic schools (the two best-known bodies of psychological work at midcentury) agreed on anything at all, it was that meaning, purpose, and other such belief systems were the products of more fundamental drives; that they were dependant on the drives for their shape, substance, and very existence; and that meaning and purpose were no more than marginal factors in behavioral development To this entrenched materialist position, Frankl (1959) wrote (in the non-“degenderized” language of his day): Man’s search for meaning is a primary force in his life and not a “secondary rationalization” of instinctual drives This meaning is unique and specific in that it must and can be fulfilled by him alone; only then does it achieve a significance which will satisfy his own will to meaning There are some authors who contend that meanings and values are “nothing but defense mechanisms, reaction formations and sublimations” But as for myself, I would not be willing to live merely for the sake of my “defense mechanisms,” nor would I be ready to die merely for the sake of my “reaction formations” Man, however, is able to live and even to die for the sake of his ideals and values! (p 121)

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The Development of Purpose During Adolescence

Using the Revised Youth Purpose Survey (Bundick et al., 2006), the Trait Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1991), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), the present study examined the relationship among purpose, hope, and life satisfaction among 153 adolescents, 237 emerging adults, and 416 adults (N = 806). Results of this cross-sectional study revealed that having identified a purpose in life was associated with greater life satisfaction at these three stages of life. However, searching for a purpose was only associated with increased life satisfaction during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Additionally, aspects of hope mediated the relationship between purpose and life satisfaction at all three stages of life. Implications of these results for effectively fostering purpose are discussed.

Purpose, hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups

Moral identity has been touted as a foundation for understanding moral agency in organizations. The purpose of this article is to review the current state of knowledge regarding moral identity and highlight several promising avenues for advancing current understandings of moral actions in organizational contexts. The article begins with a brief overview of two distinct conceptual perspectives on moral identity—the character perspective and the social-cognitive perspective—that dominate extant literature. It then discusses varying approaches that have been taken in attempting to measure moral identity. The final two sections of the article review empirical findings regarding the antecedents and consequences of moral identity, respectively. Mechanisms and
 situational factors that are pertinent to moral agency in organizations are emphasized in both sections.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1052150X00010034

Beyond moral reasoning: A review of moral identity research and its implications for business ethics

Children considered ‘at-risk’ for school failure and other adverse life outcomes have received increasing attention in multiple countries across the world. The research literature is replete with studies that emphasize specific detrimental factors that may make a child’s life more difficult upon entering adulthood. The traditional, negative perspective of first identifying deficits and pathology before offering aid contrasts sharply with resiliency research and the emerging positive youth development (PYD) model. The developmental assets framework is under the rubric of PYD and offers a strength-based approach to child development, prevention and intervention. This article reviews and integrates data which demonstrate how asset-building is beneficial to students considered at-risk. School psychologists are well-positioned to collaborate with teachers and other educators to play vital roles in implementing this proactive PYD model to help all students.

A Positive Youth Development Model for Students Considered At-Risk.

This study examined the relations between school climate variables and students’ feeling of wellbeing, life satisfaction, ethnic identity, moral identity and resilience. Furthermore, the study also...

Students’ perceptions of school climate as determinants of wellbeing, resilience and identity:

Studies of adolescent conduct have found that both exemplary and antisocial behaviour can be predicted by the manner in which adolescents integrate moral concerns into their theories and descriptions of self. These findings have led many developmentalists to conclude that moral identity‐‐in contrast to moral judgement or reflection alone‐‐plays a powerful role in mediating social conduct. Moreover, developmental theory and research have shown that identity formation during adolescence is a process of forging a coherent and systematic sense of self. Despite these well‐founded conclusions, many moral education programmes fail to engage a young person's sense of self, focus exclusively on judgement and reflection and make little or no attempt to establish coherence with other formative influences in a young person's life. The authors propose a new method, called “the youth charter”, for promoting adolescent self‐identification with a coherent set of moral standards.

The Youth Charter: Towards the Formation of Adolescent Moral Identity.

Abstract Studies of adolescent conduct have found that both exemplary and antisocial behaviour can be predicted by the manner in which adolescents integrate moral concerns into their theories and descriptions of self. These findings have led many developmentalists to conclude that moral identity‐‐in contrast to moral judgement or reflection alone‐‐plays a powerful role in mediating social conduct. Moreover, developmental theory and research have shown that identity formation during adolescence is a process of forging a coherent and systematic sense of self. Despite these well‐founded conclusions, many moral education programmes fail to engage a young person's sense of self, focus exclusively on judgement and reflection and make little or no attempt to establish coherence with other formative influences in a young person's life. The authors propose a new method, called “the youth charter”, for promoting adolescent self‐identification with a coherent set of moral standards.

Anne Gregory

Papers

The Youth Charter: Towards the Formation of Adolescent Moral Identity.

The youth charter: Towards theformation of adolescent moral identity