Exploring the Relationship between Adolescents’ Values and their Engagement in Nonviolent Behavior

Abstract

This study examined the relations between values (Self-transcendence Values, [ST] and Self-enhancement Values, [SE]) and Nonviolent Behavior (NVB). The study employed a quantitatively driven mixed methods design and was conducted on Ethiopian adolescents attending their secondary schools in Addis Ababa. A total of 171 randomly selected adolescents (87 females and 84 males) from two randomly chosen schools participated in the study. Five of these adolescents (3 females and 2 males) participated in a qualitative study. Questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used to collect data. To analyze the quantitative data, descriptive statistics, correlation, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed. Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) were used for this purpose. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically using Open Code version 4.03. It was found that the two higher order values (i.e., ST and SE) accounted for a substantial amount of variance in NVB independently (50.30% for ST and 32.40% for SE) and jointly (70.60%). The study also found that the structural model that linked ST, SE and NVB fit the data adequately. Moreover, the relations found among these variables are in line with the pattern predicated by Shalom Schwartz’s Basic Individual Values Theory. Implications of these findings are discussed.