Introduction to the Special Section Value Development from Middle Childhood to Early Adulthood—New Insights from Longitudinal and Genetically Informed Research

Abstract

Research into values at an early age has only started recently, although it has expanded quickly and dynamically in the past years. The purpose of this article is twofold: First, it provides an introduction to a special section that aims to help fill the gap in value development research. The special section brings together four new longitudinal and genetically informed studies of value development from the beginning of middle childhood through early adulthood. Second, this article reviews recent research from this special section and beyond, aiming to provide new directions to the field. With new methods for assessing children's values and an increased awareness of the role of values in children's and adolescents' development, the field now seems ripe for an in-depth investigation. Our review of empirical evidence shows that, as is the case with adults, children's values are organized based on compatibilities and conflicts in their underlying motivations. Values show some consistency across situations, as well as stability across time. This longitudinal stability tends to increase with age, although mean changes are also observed. These patterns of change seem to be compatible with Schwartz's (1992) theory of values (e.g., if the importance of openness to change values increases, the importance of conservation values decreases). The contributions of culture, family, peers, significant life events, and individual characteristics to values are discussed, as well as the development of values as guides for behavior.

Parent–child value similarity in families with young children: The predictive power of prosocial educational goals

“…It was found that children have a differentiated understanding of values, and they clearly prioritize some values over others (e.g., D€ oring, Daniel, & Knafo-Noam, 2016). Even though none of these new pieces of research include data on parents' values yet, they inform the present study in many ways: We know that children's value priorities are affected by the social context.…”

Values in families with young children: Insights from two cultural milieus in Germany

“…These findings were explained in terms of universals in gender‐roles and evolutionary antecedents. First studies with 7‐ to 11‐year‐old children from Germany, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, and the USA yielded similar results (Döring et al, ; Kandler et al, ). We thus expected that value priorities would differ between males and females in both generations.…”

“…The PBVS‐C for the first time provides access to children's self‐reported values and therefore served as an assessment tool in this study. First studies with the PBVS‐C have shown that value structures at the age of 6–11 years already follow Schwartz's prototypical circular model, with the HOVs consistently found across cultures (Döring et al, ). We are focusing on the HOVs for this reason.…”

“…Existing studies also point to considerable similarities of value priorities in the two generations. For example, on average, both children and adults consider values of self‐transcendence most and values of self‐enhancement least important (Döring et al, ). However, these studies (e.g., Döring et al, , ; Schwartz, ) focus on either children or adults.…”

“…Children learn about themselves through repeated everyday practices and interactions within the family. For example, children who grew up in a religious family‐valued conservation more and openness to change less than children from non‐religious families (Döring et al, ). Similarly, the experience of economic insecurity and scarcity of resources may increase family members' valuation of so‐called materialistic values (e.g., maintaining order in society) and decrease their valuation of so‐called postmaterialistic values (e.g., freedom of speech; Kroh, ).…”