Personal goals and interests play an important role in human development because they orient
people's life planning, decision-making and also, therefore, their future life course. The article
presents the findings of a research which explores the eventual differences between Slovenian
and Croatian sample in agency-oriented and communion-oriented life goals and the analysis of
significant predictors of above mentioned life goals on both samples. The research included 924
adults of both genders, aged between 21 and 70 years from Slovenia and Croatia. In the study we used the scale of Goals (Pohlman
and Brunstein, 1997) and a set of questions regarding various participant's life domains and
their perceived importance. The results show significant differences on agency- oriented and
communion- oriented life goals between the Slovenian and Croatian sample; in both cases croatian
participants reach higher results than those from slovenina sample. As significant predictors in
both samples were identified (a) age and importance of effective use of free time for
agency-oriented goals, and (b) and gender, parenthood, importance of parenthood and importance of
effective use of free time for communion- oriented life goals. The differences in results are
explained by respective levels of social modernisation and social welfare, given the fact the
Slovenian respondents are embedded in the social environment that offers more possibilities for
fullfilment of their life goals, and are closer to postmaterialism and
individualism.
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