Understanding Adolescent Future Expectations: Socioeconomic Status and the mediating role of Just World Beliefs

Abstract

In 2008, adolescents’ expectations for the future were deemed "absurdly ambitious" (Baird et al., 2008). However, recently these seemed to have shifted toward worry and insecurity (NCJ, 2023; SER, 2019). This is concerning given that having positive future expectations is associated with positive health behaviors, high motivation and overall positive youth development (McDade et al., 2011; Oettingen & Mayer, 2002; Schmid et al., 2011). This study is the first western study to investigate how socioeconomic status (SES) relates to future expectations and whether just world beliefs (JWB), someone’s personal beliefs in a fair and just world, mediate this relation. Data from self-report questionnaires the YOUth Got Talent (YGT) project collected from 2019 to 2020 was used, of which the sample of the current study included 853 Dutch vocational students from 16 to 29 (M = 16.14, SD = 1.54). Three linear regressions were done and the mediation analysis that was done revealed a positive but weak relation between SES and future expectations, mediated by JWB. These findings suggest that a higher SES is associated with more JWB, which in turn leads to more positive future expectations. The results of this study aligned with its hypotheses and with existing theoretical perspectives and empiric findings. This study contributes to the understanding of what factors influence future expectations and hints at the potential for promoting JWB to enhance future expectations among low SES youth in intervention programs. However, further research on this topic is needed in order to realize such interventions.