Transpersonal commitments in adolescence: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

An expressed desire for commitment beyond self of 1094 adolescents, aged 14–15, from three cultures-Israeli-Moslem-Arab, Israeli Jewish, and American Christian-was examined for its relationship to the nature and intensity of positive experiences, personality traits, and culture. Commitment beyond self (transpersonal commitment) was assessed by means of a Life Aspiration Questionnaire designed for this study. Landsman's Positive Experience Questionnaire (1966), and Cattell's High School Personalitity Questionnaire (1975) were also employed. The major hypothesis was that there will exist a relationship between adolescents' readiness Author's Note: The author wishes to express her gratitude to Professor Ted Landsman of the University of Florida, and to Professors R. Shapira and A. Ziv of Tel-Aviv University for their inspiration and guidance throughout her research. for commitment, their personal attributes, and the nature and intensity of their experiences, beyond cultural differences. The findings show first that adolescents' desire for commitment beyond self was totally unaffected by their cultural background, and second, that adolescents in all cultures who reported positive experiences of high intensity expressed the greatest desire for such commitment.