Adolescents' Expectations of Future Events – a Cross-Cultural Study of Australians, Americans, and Indians

Abstract

An important developmental task of adolescents is to consider future possibilities and begin to make choices and plans. In this investigation, samples of 15-year-olds of both sexes from small towns in India, the United States, and Australia were asked to list seven important events they expected in the future, to indicate the approximate time that would elapse before the occurrence of each, and whether each was pleasant or unpleasant. Raters categorized responses for content. The two American samples, twelve years apart, were very similar in their responses. All groups listed predominantly pleasant events. Australian girls showed longer time spans than American girls; and Indian boys, but not girls, produced longer time spans than most of the Australians or Americans… A number of significant differences in the content of responses appeared.