The Relations of Maternal and Social Environments to Late Adolescents' Materialistic and Prosocial Values

Organismic theories and recent research suggest that environments that do not support growth and self-expression are associated with valuing financial success relatively more than affiliation, community feeling, and self-acceptance. This prediction was investigated in a heterogenous sample of 18-year-olds using a variety of methods and informants. Teenagers who rated the importance of financial success aspirations relatively high compared to other values were found to have mothers who were less nurturant. Further, materially oriented teenagers grew up in less advantageous socioeconomic circumstances and were raised by mothers who especially valued the teens' financial success. Discussion focuses on explicating the different ways values are acquired.