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Dreams, aspirations and related constructs in children and adolescents: a literature review

  • Daniel T.L. Shek EMAIL logo , Florence K.Y. Wu and Hildie Leung
Published/Copyright: November 18, 2016

Abstract

Although children and adolescents are often asked about their “dreams” about life, scientific studies of “dreams” and related constructs are grossly inadequate. This paper describes the findings arising from a review study exploring the concepts of dreams, aspirations and related constructs in children and adolescents. Besides an overview of the concept of dream, conceptual features and unique underpinnings of other concepts commonly related to dream, such as “aspirations”, “hope”, “future orientation” and “resilience” are presented in this paper. The research questions surrounding “dream” and related constructs in children and adolescents are presented and future research directions are discussed.

Acknowledgements

The current project was financially supported by The Bao Bao Bear Care Foundation Limited. The materials in this paper are based on the unpublished report entitled “Literature Review on Hope and Aspirations in Children and Adolescents” submitted to the Foundation. The authorship is equally shared by the authors.

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Received: 2016-7-25
Accepted: 2016-8-25
Published Online: 2016-11-18

©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Editorial
  2. Paradigm shift in youth development: Development of “soft skills” in adolescents
  3. Reviews
  4. Dreams, aspirations and related behavior in children and adolescents: impacts on child developmental outcomes
  5. Hope, aspirations, and resilience in children and adolescents: a review of research on measurement and related antecedents
  6. Dreams, aspirations and related constructs in children and adolescents: a literature review
  7. Original Articles
  8. Perceived effectiveness and satisfaction of a community-based positive youth development program: findings based on high school students
  9. Evaluation of a community-based positive youth development program in Hong Kong: views of program implementers
  10. Evaluation of a community-based positive youth development program for adolescents with greater psychosocial needs: views of the program participants
  11. Subjective outcome evaluation of the community-based P.A.T.H.S Project: views of program implementers
  12. Psychological needs, self-regulation, and motivation profiles among a sample of Hong Kong Chinese university students: a person-centered approach
  13. Individual differences in intentional and unintentional exposure to online pornography among Hong Kong Chinese adolescents
  14. Individual and family protective factors of intentional and unintentional consumption of online pornography in Hong Kong
  15. Qualitative evaluation of a service leadership subject in a Chinese context
  16. Students’ views on general education: insights gained from the narratives of Chinese students in Hong Kong
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