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Adolescence is an important period of development, as adolescents explore who they are and want to be, while at the same time negotiating autonomy and relatedness within their social and cultural contexts. In this study, we examine the roles autonomy and relatedness play in the lives of N = 16 culturally diverse adolescents. Semi-structured interviews with adolescents of non-immigrant descent (n = 5), of second-generation immigrant descent (n = 5), and first-generation immigrants with experiences of flight (n = 6) were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: 1) Family and friends are most important in life, 2) Autonomy is a developmental privilege you can earn, 3) Too much autonomy is bad for you – humans need rules, and 4) I am not in control over my own future, school is. The findings highlight relatedness as most important for adolescents from all backgrounds. The importance and negotiation of autonomy varied across the groups of adolescents, however all adolescents accepted the necessity of rules for personal and societal well-being. Findings further highlight the importance of dismantling classist and assimilationist structures embedded in the German school system to enhance the autonomy, well-being and success of adolescents with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Hölscher et al. (Mon,) studied this question.