Life Goals¶

Summary

Respondents’ life goals have been measured in the SOEP in 1990, 1992, 1995, since 2004 at four-year intervals and since 2016 at five-year intervals. They have been used with ten items that can be grouped into three scales (success, family life, and altruism).

Theoretical Background

Life goals can be thought of as “relatively long- term, value-laden life objectives” (Meier et al., 1959). They have been conceptualized as “organizers” of developmental self-regulation that individuals use to influence their own development as they adapt to the constraints of a given situation (Heckhausen, 1999). Individual life goals correspond to societal values to the extent that they are aligned with cultural preferences, if not culturally prescribed norms. A classic example is the goal of material success as embodied in the achievement of money, power, and security, which in turn lead to prestige and social recognition. However, overarching non-monetary goals such as “the good life” or “personal development” are also taking on an increasingly important role in individuals’ lives (Meier et al., 1959). Research on life goals has investigated their impact on individuals’ future orientations and their occupational, educational, and family-related decision making (Chang et al., 2006). Life goals also play a prominent role in motivational theories of life-span development, which focus on goal commitment, planning, and eventual goal attainment (Heckhausen et al., 2010). Another strand of research is concerned with the prioritization of life goals and perceived control over goal attainment (Heckhausen, 1999). Recent evidence that life goals play a role in life satisfaction has contributed to the research on subjective well-being and life satisfaction (Heady 2008).

Scale Development

The items are based (albeit with some changes of wording) on a classification of goals and measures initially developed by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961) and translated into German by Bielenski and Strümpel (1988). More information on the development of the scale is given by Headey (2008).

References

Bielenski, H. & Strümpel, B. (1988). Eingeschränkte Erwerbsarbeit bei Frauen und Männern. Fakten - Wünsche - Realisierungschancen. Berlin: Edition Sigma.

Chang, E. S., Chen, C, Greenberger, E., Dooley, D., & Heckhausen, J. (2006). What do they want in life?: The life goals of a multi-ethnic, multi-generational sample of high school seniors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 302-313.

Headey, B. W. (2008). Life goals matter to happiness: A revision of set-point theory. Social Indicators Research, 86, 213-231.

Heckhausen, J. (1999). Developmental regulation in adulthood: Age-normative and sociostructional constraints as adaptive challenges. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Heckhausen, J., Wrosch, C., & Schulz, R. (2010). A motivational theory of life-span development. Psychological Review, 117, 32-60.

Kluckhohn, F. R., & Strodtbeck, F. L. (1961). Variations in value orientations. Evanston, Illinois: Row, Peterson.

Meier, D. L., & Bell, W. (1959). Anomia and differential access to the achievement of life goals. American Sociological Review, 24, 189-202.

Items

Are the following things currently … for you (Sind für Sie persönlich die folgenden Dinge heute …):

Success

Being able to afford to buy things for myself (Sich etwas leisten können).

Being fullfilled (Sich selbst verwirklichen).

Being successful in my career (Erfolg im Beruf haben).

Seeing the world and/or traveling extensively (Die Welt sehen, viele Reisen machen).

Scale: 1 (Very important / Sehr wichtig) to 4 (Not at all important / Ganz unwichtig)

Items and Scale Statistics

year	variable	count	mean	sd	itemrestcorr	alpha
1990	plh0104	7136	2.07	0.62	0.36	0.60
1990	plh0106	7101	2.15	0.76	0.45	0.60
1990	plh0107	6845	2.18	0.92	0.43	0.60
1990	plh0112	7143	2.47	0.84	0.31	0.60
1992	plh0104	11018	1.96	0.62	0.38	0.61
1992	plh0106	10927	2.13	0.79	0.47	0.61
1992	plh0107	10672	2.11	0.95	0.44	0.61
1992	plh0112	11008	2.47	0.83	0.30	0.61
1995	plh0104	11663	1.98	0.61	0.36	0.61
1995	plh0106	11585	2.09	0.76	0.49	0.61
1995	plh0107	11200	2.07	0.90	0.45	0.61
1995	plh0112	11639	2.54	0.81	0.30	0.61
2004	plh0104	21933	1.98	0.59	0.37	0.61
2004	plh0106	21809	2.15	0.75	0.48	0.61
2004	plh0107	20840	2.13	0.87	0.43	0.61
2004	plh0112	21917	2.56	0.82	0.30	0.61
2008	plh0104	19632	2.01	0.60	0.37	0.63
2008	plh0106	19547	2.23	0.77	0.50	0.63
2008	plh0107	18612	2.21	0.90	0.45	0.63
2008	plh0112	19596	2.64	0.82	0.33	0.63
2010	plh0104	7788	2.06	0.66	0.39	0.59
2010	plh0106	7768	2.05	0.71	0.45	0.59
2010	plh0107	7785	2.06	0.71	0.41	0.59
2010	plh0112	7780	2.58	0.81	0.27	0.59
2012	plh0104	27925	2.06	0.63	0.36	0.61
2012	plh0106	27807	2.13	0.74	0.49	0.61
2012	plh0107	26216	2.16	0.86	0.44	0.61
2012	plh0112	27903	2.56	0.83	0.29	0.61
2016	plh0104	24603	2.06	0.63	0.35	0.62
2016	plh0106	24483	2.14	0.74	0.48	0.62
2016	plh0107	23229	2.20	0.85	0.45	0.62
2016	plh0112	24580	2.49	0.84	0.33	0.62

Items

Are the following things currently … for you (Sind für Sie persönlich die folgenden Dinge heute …):

Family Life

Owning a house (Ein eigenes Haus haben).

Having a happy marriage/relationship (Eine glückliche Ehe / Partnerschaft haben).

Having children (Kinder haben).

Scale: 1 (Very important / Sehr wichtig) to 4 (Not at all important / Ganz unwichtig)

Items and Scale Statistics

year	variable	count	mean	sd	itemrestcorr	alpha
1990	plh0108	7125	2.39	0.99	0.32	0.56
1990	plh0109	7077	1.44	0.74	0.40	0.56
1990	plh0110	7067	1.88	0.88	0.42	0.56
1992	plh0108	10947	2.41	1.01	0.31	0.56
1992	plh0109	10936	1.40	0.73	0.42	0.56
1992	plh0110	10888	1.79	0.90	0.41	0.56
1995	plh0108	11592	2.33	0.98	0.28	0.54
1995	plh0109	11568	1.39	0.71	0.40	0.54
1995	plh0110	11529	1.77	0.89	0.40	0.54
2004	plh0108	21811	2.32	0.98	0.31	0.55
2004	plh0109	21730	1.43	0.69	0.41	0.55
2004	plh0110	21572	1.80	0.89	0.39	0.55
2008	plh0108	19534	2.41	0.98	0.30	0.54
2008	plh0109	19464	1.45	0.70	0.39	0.54
2008	plh0110	19391	1.76	0.88	0.38	0.54
2010	plh0108	7786	2.28	0.92	0.24	0.47
2010	plh0109	7786	1.27	0.53	0.37	0.47
2010	plh0110	7783	1.34	0.56	0.34	0.47
2012	plh0108	27801	2.41	0.98	0.29	0.52
2012	plh0109	27663	1.45	0.70	0.38	0.52
2012	plh0110	27612	1.67	0.84	0.35	0.52
2016	plh0108	24490	2.38	0.98	0.28	0.51
2016	plh0109	24380	1.46	0.71	0.38	0.51
2016	plh0110	24331	1.65	0.84	0.34	0.51

Items

Are the following things currently … for you (Sind für Sie persönlich die folgenden Dinge heute …):

Altruism

Being there for others (Für andere da sein).

Spending a lot of time with friends (Viel mit Freunden zusammen sein).

Being politically and/or socially involved (Sich politisch, gesellschaftlich einsetzen).

Scale: 1 (Very important / Sehr wichtig) to 4 (Not at all important / Ganz unwichtig)

Items and Scale Statistics

year	variable	count	mean	sd	itemrestcorr	alpha
1990	plh0105	7142	1.90	0.59	0.19	0.40
1990	plh0090	7136	2.13	0.71	0.27	0.40
1990	plh0111	7125	2.99	0.76	0.25	0.40
1992	plh0105	11010	1.88	0.60	0.27	0.46
1992	plh0090	10993	2.10	0.71	0.33	0.46
1992	plh0111	10953	3.16	0.73	0.26	0.46
1995	plh0105	11644	1.82	0.59	0.24	0.43
1995	plh0090	11619	2.09	0.70	0.32	0.43
1995	plh0111	11597	3.16	0.71	0.24	0.43
2004	plh0105	21926	1.83	0.58
2004	plh0111	21830	2.93	0.75
2008	plh0105	19626	1.83	0.57
2008	plh0111	19518	3.10	0.75
2010	plh0105	7788	1.51	0.55
2010	plh0111	7771	2.69	0.79
2012	plh0105	27910	1.71	0.57
2012	plh0111	27853	2.81	0.77
2016	plh0105	24604	1.69	0.57
2016	plh0111	24520	2.79	0.78