A study compared the attitudes of high school students from three countries--Australia, Portugal, and the United States--concerning the importance of work, home, and family in their lives. By administering appropriate national versions of the Salience Inventory and the Career Development Inventory to 114 Australian, 158 Portuguese, and 204 American high school students, researchers were able to measure the behavioral, affective, and cognitive attitudes of the youths toward work, home, and family. Distinctive role patterns emerged in the three countries. Although the Australian students had the highest work participation, they had the lowest work commitment. The Portuguese students had the least work commitment as well as the least work experience and the lowest values realization through work. Of the three groups surveyed, the American students were the most committed to home and family and had the highest values expectation through work. Australia and the United States had similar sex-role patterns with females more committed to home and family than males and more committed to home than to work. In contrast, Portuguese females reported higher levels of commitment to work than did Portuguese males, and both sexes were relatively more committed to work than to home. (MN)