Pathological Aspects of Social I Cultural Alination: A Study of Value Isolation Among University Students

The present article using alination as a theoretical concept and based on empirical data obtained fom a survey research on student alinaton in Tehran universities, attempts to offer a conceptual and operational definition of the term social - cultural alination (value isolation) in order to measure students' degree of value isolation. Using a causal- descriptive model, value isolation has been assumed to be affected by sereval independent variables. The major goals of the research were two - fold: fist, to determine the correlational associations between value isolation and socio - psychological variables. A second goal was to compare and contrast the behavioral characteristics of the al inated students in Iran with those in other countries in order to delineate similarities and differences in students behavioral patterns as well as testing the validity of theoretical concept. The findings revealed a significant relationship between alination (value isolation) of students and their SES , life satisfaction, social control, Oedipal conflict with authoritarian parents and hostility toward society. The value and behavioral patterns expressed by alienated students in Iran correlated with and revealed similarities to those in other communities. The study, however, poses many additional questions of value isolation to be raised.