Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to examine the perception of success of young Muslim migrants. Review of the literature revealed the absence of an instrument to measure how success in life is perceived by ethnic minorities. The current research was undertaken as a first step in providing such a measure. It exists of two distinct studies. Initially, 32 adolescents with an Islamic religious orientation between 15 and 25 years were interviewed to explore different perceptions about being successful. Based on their responses to open-ended questions, a close-ended scale was developed. The process of scale construction yielded in a 26 item pool defining aspects of success, in which respondents were asked to rate the importance of each item. Subsequently, exploratory factor analysis with a sample of 1020 respondents eliminated unsuitable items to improve conceptual clarity and reduced the 26-item pilot questionnaire (Perception of Success in Life) to a four factor 20 item structure representing four distinct perceptions of success in life. All factors correspond to an orientation towards success and were labeled a Traditional Orientation, a Self Directive Orientation, a Self Transcending Orientation and a Status Orientation towards success. Reliability and item total statistics were calculated to proof the value of the scale. In addition, t-tests revealed that the PoSil differentiated boys and girls, where boys attach greater importance to status and girls show a more traditional perception of success.