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246 Dutch participants aged 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 years were presented with the Strength of Identification Scale (SoIS; Barrett, 2007) and the National Identity scale based on Cultural and Historical achievements (NICH; derived from the NATID, Keillor & Hult, 1999). The study aimed to examine the extent and nature of Dutch children and adolescents' identification with The Netherlands and to explore whether changes in aspects of national identification are evident across age. Already at age 8 years children identify themselves with the Dutch nation and with increasing age national identification becomes primarily determined by the extent that participants consider themselves to be Dutch and show positive affect towards the Dutch nation. Identification on the basis of cultural and historical achievements of the Dutch people became less evident following the age of 10 years although Dutch historical and cultural achievements contributed significantly to the extent of national identification., (Copyright © 2010 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The hypothesis guiding this study stated that just world beliefs (i.e., the belief that the world is orderly and just) are primitive beliefs that lose their importance across age as they become replaced by more sophisticated forms of reasoning enabling individuals to handle a world that is neither orderly nor just. In addition, just world beliefs were thought to relate to perceptions of inequality and collectivism within society. In this study, a cross-sectional design was employed involving 235 secondary school pupils and 268 psychology students divided over six age groups with mean ages 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 years and older. They were presented with the Just World Beliefs Scale and the Individualism-Collectivism Scale. Outcomes revealed that general beliefs in a just world begin to loose their importance around the age of 12, followed by personal beliefs around the age of 16. Vertical collectivism related positively to general and personal just world beliefs showing that the experience of social 'inequality' plays an important role in the maintenance of such beliefs.