t is every overbearing parents’ worst nightmare. A recent study completed by William Damon at Stanford University shows that children who have discovered a sense of purpose in their lives have typically done so independently—without their parents’ guidance.

Based on three years of research at the Stanford Center for Adolescence, the study started with the premise that purpose is essential for a constructive and meaningful life. Damon and his team sampled males and females from 12-23 years of age, representing a range of ethnic and religious backgrounds. The research found that among American youth, approximately 15% are highly dedicated to some productive commitment, 25% are purposeless and drifting and 60% are looking to engage in something and are open to influence.

The qualities of the 15% group are high spirits, high moral energy and perseverance. “This group expressed their greatest dedication to the purposes of family, beliefs and life work, in that order,” says Damon. “They are good for themselves and good for society.”

But it’s the 60% group “looking to engage” that represent a key opportunity for parents and educators. “Getting people to talk about purpose and meaning—what I call the ‘why’ questions—in our society is not something that comes naturally, and we don’t have a lot of examples of public figures who are doing that in an inspiring way,” says Damon.

The next phase of Damon’s work is a four-year project, funded by a $1 million Templeton grant, titled “The Scientific Study and Practice of Youth Purpose” that will continue to follow 12 young people who exemplify purpose-filled lives. Examples include young people dedicated to curing cancer, ridding Los Angeles of guns and creating new forms of music.

In the United States, where the standards are the leading measure of progress, Damon sees a disconnect between students striving for academic success and finding purpose. “We have kids tuning-out like crazy in this country in math and science because nobody talks to them about what can be done with those subjects. Instead they are told that they should do well in algebra because then they can get a good job or do well in engineering so they can drive a BMW. What they are not told about is ‘Why be an engineer? What does an engineer feel when he puts up the Golden Gate Bridge? Nobody is talking to them on this level. And the irony is these kids come alive when people talk to them like this.”

“Not a single one of our subjects had purpose introduced to them by a parent,” continues Damon. “One of our kids, at the age of eight, learned in his classroom that many families in Africa don’t have drinking wells for clean water, so he decided to start raising money to help fix that. By the age of 12, he’d raised over a million dollars. That’s the principle that really surprised us. These kids are not taking over their parents’ purpose in life. They’re interested in discovering their own.”

Over the next four years, Damon and his team will promote the study and practice of youth purpose with a longitudinal study, a small grants program for scholars and an educational component to encourage programs that foster purpose in the classroom. The completion of the project in September 2009 will culminate with a public conference at Stanford University to share the results. “Despite the obvious importance of purpose in life, there is very little known about how it develops or how to foster it… We’re going to change that.”

www.stanford.edu/group/adolescent.ctr