Creative Commons

This research is conducted in Thessaloniki and examines the role of materialism as an attitude of the adolescents who have experienced specific disruptive family incidents. Drawing literature and measures adopted from the life course paradigm. We gathered 199 fully completed questionnaires and statistically analyzed them. Prerequisites for the participation in this study were that participants should be aged between 14 to 17 years old and have a Facebook account. All information provided remained strictly confidential and anonymity was assured. The participants were from various neighborhoods of Thessaloniki, a fact that makes the results of this study possibly more reliable. Last but not least, I would like to thank Dr. Vasiliki Grougiou for her valuable support and guidance throughout the completion of this study and Nikoleta Diga for her contribution to the number of questionnaires that we managed to collect. Mayer and Tuma (1990) suggest that unlike many other approaches to the study of behavior, the life course paradigm assumes that behavior at any stage in life or given point in time is influenced by various circumstances experienced in earlier life, including cultural settings, and the way the individual or a group (e.g., family) has adapted to these circumstances (Benmoyal-­‐Bouzaglo and Moschis, 2010). Taking as an over aching framework the life course paradigm, this study aims to examine the relationship of family disruptive events with teenagers’ materialistic values. The findings are partially in line with previous theories and assumptions on the impact of family disruptions on the development of materialistic values. The role of family communication styles, adolescents’ wellbeing and the influence of online peers on consumption patterns were considered in the examined model. The findings reveal that a family socio-­‐orientated communication style and online peer communications on consumption patterns are positively affecting the development of materialistic values by the adolescents.