By employing the life course paradigm as an over-arching conceptual framework that serves as a vehicle for integrating socialization, psychological and cultural perspectives (Moschis,2007),westudytheeffectsofdisruptivefamilyexperiences during adolescence on the materialistic values of 285 young Greek adults in a cultural setting (Mediterranean) different from the North American setting which has been predominantly examined in the past. We seek to understand the processes and conditions which have contributed to the development of these young adults’ materialistic values