Life Project for Adolescents: A Concept Analysis

Abstract

It is essential to identify protective factors during adolescence due to its high incidence on risk behaviors. One of these factors is to have a life project that influences adolescent decision-making. The concept of life project has mainly been linked to teen pregnancy, depression and suicide; however, some authors agree that the concept is not clearly defined. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to define the concept of adolescent life project, using the methodology developed by Walker and Avant for concept analysis. The following steps were followed are: select a concept, determining the purpose of analysis, identifying all uses of the concept, determining the defining attributes, identifying a model, a borderline and a contrary cases, identifying history and consequences of the concept, and finally defining empirical referents. After the analysis, the final definition of the concept of adolescent life project includes the set of desires, future plans and actions necessary to accomplish it that influence the adolescent decisions. Knowing the importance of this concept when working with adolescents may guide development more effective interventions.