The Significance Of Adolescent’s Value System In Creating Concept About Their Own Life

This paper presents a study on the significance of adolescent’s value system in creating concept about their own life in the process of planning their own future. A hypothetical model of this concept is analysed, which identifies such main components as: preferred life style, life goals and plans, and decisions concerning their own future. This model acknowledges values as the main criterion in creating this concept as they form the base for defining a person’s preferred life style, their formulation of life goals and plans and the undertaking of important decisions concerning their future (Czerwińska-Jasiewicz, 2005). The propounded author’s own model of adolescents’ concepts about their own future has been based on the notion of J. Piaget (Inhelder, Piaget, 1970), concerning adolescents creating a “programme” of their own life, as a specific developmental task during adolescence. The statement that the “programme" of adolescents’ own lives is based on a given value scale on which certain ideals and goals can be placed above others seems particularly significant in this concept. The discussion presented herein is based on the above statement. The creation by me of the above model was further inspired by the theoretical concepts and the research programmes concerning the future orientation of adolescents, their goals and life plans and values (Nuttin, 1980; Niemczyński, 1980, 1988; Nurmi, 1991; Matusewicz, 1975; Mądrzycki, 1996; Zaleski, 1991; Trempała, 1996, 2000).