Adolescent Career Development Research Articles

Perceived parental career expectation and adolescent career development: The mediating role of adolescent career-planning and goal-setting self-efficacy and the moderating role of perceived parent-adolescent career congruence.

The underlying mechanisms (i.e., linking and conditioning mechanisms) in the association between perceived parental career expectation and adolescents' career development remain understudied. Under the guidance of the social cognitive career theory, this study used three-wave longitudinal data from 3,196 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 15.55 years old, SD = .44; 52.8% girls at Wave 1) to fill such gaps. Results indicate conditional indirect effects. Specifically, the indirect association of perceived parental career expectation with adolescents' career adaptability and ambivalence via adolescents' career-planning and goal-setting self-efficacy was stronger when perceived parent-adolescent career congruence was higher than that when perceived parent-adolescent career congruence was lower. Such effects were identified even after various career-related parenting practices were controlled for. Implications for theory, future research and interventions were also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for Perceived Parental Career Expectation and Adolescent Career Development: The Mediating Role of Adolescent Career-Planning and Goal-Setting Self-Efficacy and the Moderating Role of Perceived Parent–Adolescent Career Congruence

Supplemental Material for Perceived Parental Career Expectation and Adolescent Career Development: The Mediating Role of Adolescent Career-Planning and Goal-Setting Self-Efficacy and the Moderating Role of Perceived Parent–Adolescent Career Congruence

Examining the relationship between self-efficacy, career development, and subjective wellbeing in physical education students

We investigated the relationship between self-efficacy and career development via subjective well-being of students majoring in physical education. Life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect were the componennts of subjective well-being. Participants were the 1381 adolescents with major in physical education with an age range of 18–22 years (Mage = 19.5 ± 1; females = 34.76%). Hayes PROCESS model was used to develop a multiple mediation model. The results suggest that higher self-efficacy leads to better career development. Further, a significant mediating role was played by negative and positive affect in case of the relationship between self-efficacy and career exploration, but life-satisfaction is not significant mediator. Conversely, life satisfaction and positive affect are significant mediators between self-efficacy and career adaptability but negative affect is not. The findings suggest that self-efficacy and subjective well-being benefit career development of adolescents in the physical education field.

초기 청소년 진로발달의 종단적 변화와 개인, 부모, 또래요인의 영향에 대한 잠재성장분석

This study aimed to identify individual differences in the longitudinal trajectory of early adolescent career development and to identify individual, parental, and peer relationship factors that significantly influence initial values and longitudinal changes. For this purpose, first 1st-5th year panel data from the Jeonnam Education Longitudinal Study, including 2062 students starting from the 4th grade of elementary school, were used. The results showed that the level of career development decreased over time, with significant individual differences in both the initial and growth rates. The initial level of career development was negatively and significantly related to growth rate, and early adolescents with higher initial levels showed a steeper decline. Second, among the individual factors, all variables except academic self-concept and self-management, and among the social factors, parental interaction, academic support, and peer relationships were significantly and statistically predictive of the initial level of
 career development. Among these, the body self-concept best explains the individual differences. Third, regarding career development growth, only social and academic self-concepts were significant predictors among the individual factors, and only parental interaction and academic support were significant among the social factors. Self-management was not significantly related to either the initial or rate of change in career development. The findings provide educational implications for changes in career development in early adolescence and suggestions for educational interventions for career development.

From Adaptive Readiness to Adaptation Results Testing the Career Construction Model of Adaptation in Chinese Adolescents

China’s college entrance examination reforms necessitate a new view of adolescent career development along with suitable assessment instruments for career intervention with secondary school students. We conducted two studies to address this need. The first study examined the evidence for the validity and reliability of the Student Career Construction Inventory (SCCI). The results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) supported the four-factor structure of the SCCI. The findings suggest that the SCCI is an effective measure of career-construction behaviors among Chinese secondary school students. The second study evaluated the applicability of the career construction model of adaptation (CCMA). The model was empirically tested using the validated SCCI. The results of the serial mediation analysis confirmed that adaptive readiness indirectly influences adaptability resources, adapting responses, and adaptation results in the CCMA model.

Career Adaptability and Academic Achievement Among Chinese High School Students: A Person-centered Longitudinal Study.

Career adaptability, essential for high school students' career development, is closely associated with academic achievement. However, it is still unclear whether there exist multiple subgroups among Chinese high school students that exhibit distinct combinations of the career adaptability dimensions and whether these subgroups display significant differences in academic achievement. Using latent profile analysis, this study identified career adaptability profiles in Chinese high school students and examined their effects on academic achievement through a longitudinal design. Chinese high school students (Wave 1: N = 1783, 42.9% boys, Mage = 15.17, SD = 0.86; Wave 2: N = 1395, 42.9% boys, 82.4% science students, Mage = 16.19, SD = 0.88) completed a packet of measures on two occasions at eight-month intervals. Career adaptability was assessed at Wave 1, and academic achievement was assessed at Wave 2. Five distinct career adaptability profiles were identified: (1) Low control and confidence; (2) Below average; (3) Control dominant and low confidence; (4) Above average; (5) High. Profiles of career adaptability displayed significant differences in academic achievement. High, Above average, and Control dominant and low confidence students' achievements were significantly higher than Low control and confidence students. These findings indicate that students with an overall high level of career adaptability or more robust career control are more likely to achieve higher academic achievement. In addition, level (average scores of all dimensions across different profiles) and shape (distinct forms displayed by the specific combination of dimensions) effects exist in the influence of career adaptability profiles on academic achievement. This highlights the dynamic and diverse nature of adolescent career development within the Chinese high school context.

혼합효과 랜덤 포레스트를 적용한 청소년기 진로성숙도 발달 예측 변인 탐색

The purpose of this study is to explore predictive variables of career maturity during middle and high school. To do this, the mixed effects random forest that considers the hierarchical data structure of longitudinal data was applied to GEPS(gyeonggi education panel study) data from the 4th to 9th wave (7th-12th grades). To derive the major predictive variables which are more stable, the analysis through multiple imputation was repeated five times to identify the top 20 variables with a high SHAP (shapley additive expansion) importance index. As a result, 17 major predictive variables were derived by using SHAP value: ‘self-understanding as a learner’, ‘proactive initiative’, sub factors of self-directed learning ability, friend relationships, teacher relationships, and ‘career search during vacation’ were selected as key variables that predict development of career maturity. In addition, variables related to relationships between parent-child such as ‘parent parenting behavior’ and ‘attachment’, as well as students affective attitudes such as ‘self-esteem’, ‘self-efficacy’, and ‘learning motivation’ were selected as key predictive variables, too. The relationship between major predictive variables and career maturity was examined through the SHAP dependence plot, and educational implications for career development of adolescents were discussed.

Stability and change in configuration patterns of various career-related parental behaviors and their associations with adolescent career adaptability: A longitudinal person-centered analysis

Parents play essential roles in shaping adolescents' career development by engaging in a series of career-related parental behaviors. Based on three-wave longitudinal data collected with one-year interval between waves and using a person-centered approach, this study seeks to examine the stability and change in the configuration patterns of career-related parental behaviors, and their potential associations with adolescents' career adaptability among 1410 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 15.26, SD = 0.51, 52.4 % female). Four profiles of career-related parental behaviors were consistently identified across waves: Unsupportive but not Permissive, Supportive but not Intrusive, Rejecting and Neglecting, Ambivalent and Controlling. Further, results of Latent Transition Analyses indicated that there was a coexistence of stability and changes over time in the group memberships of career-related parental behaviors configuration patterns across high school years. Last, adolescent raised by parents who consistently endorsed supportive but not intrusive practices across high school years or at least at child 12th Grade displayed higher levels of career adaptability than adolescents whose parents adopted negative parental behaviors consistently across waves. Findings of this study highlighted the importance of systematically examining the heterogeneity and dynamics inherent within the configuration profiles of career-related parental behaviors and their unique implications for adolescent career development over time.

Career Decision Self-Efficacy Mediates Social Support and Career Adaptability and Stage Differences

Based on social cognitive career theory model of career self-management, this study explored the mediating roles of career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) between diverse sources of social support and adolescents’ career adaptability. Additionally, the effects of stage differences on career adaptability were also examined. A questionnaire was used to survey 1,268 Chinese adolescents to test the study hypotheses. The findings indicated that family support, friend support, and teacher support could influence adolescents' career adaptability either directly or indirectly via CDSE and that teacher support had the largest effect on adolescents’ career adaptability compared to family support and friend support. In addition, the effects of diverse sources of social support on CDSE and career adaptability differed among junior high school and senior high school students. These results indicate the importance of contextual and individual cognitive factors on adolescent career development. Suggestions for future research and practice are also proposed.

Career Construction with High School Girls: An Expressive Arts Group Intervention

ABSTRACT The Child and Adolescent Career Construction Interview (CACCI), adapted from the Career Construction Interview, is a low-cost, high-yield career counseling group intervention designed to address both career and social/emotional needs. Because of the scarcity of child and adolescent career development research, and potential benefits of a gender homogenous group intervention, this phenomenological study examined high school girls’ experiences participating in a CACCI group. Analysis of data yielded four major themes: a) group experience, (b) relationships, (c) insight and self-concept, and (d) resilience. This study could inform developmentally appropriate career counseling for adolescents. Through the CACCI, counselors can help adolescents explicate their conception of self even as they engage in career exploration.

Parental Career Expectation Predicts Adolescent Career Development Through Career-Related Parenting Practice: Transactional Dynamics Across High School Years

The potential mediating role of career-related parenting practice in the association between parental career expectation and adolescents’ career development remains understudied, especially the likely transactional dynamics inherent within such links. This study utilized three-annual-wave data from 3196 Chinese adolescents across the high school years ( Mage = 15.55 years old, SD = .44; 52.8% girls at Wave 1) to address such gaps. Results of cross-lagged structural equational modeling analyses demonstrated reciprocal associations between parental career expectation and career adaptability consistently across three high school years; and career-related parental support served as a mediator in such associations, net of a series of covariates. However, no associations of career ambivalence with parental career expectation across the high school years emerged. Such findings highlighted the dynamic nature of the associations among parental career expectation, career-related parenting practice, and adolescents’ career developmental outcomes. Implications for future research and practice were discussed.

The Role of Parental Socio-Economic Status and Perceived Career-Related Behaviors in Developmental Trajectories of Educational Identity in Adolescence: A Four-Wave Study

Personal identity formation is a key developmental task of adolescence, with the educational domain being a core life domain. Parents are gatekeepers of adolescent career development but their role in facilitating educational identity formation still needs to be uncovered. The present study investigated developmental trajectories of educational identity processes (commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment) across two academic years. Educational identity processes, parental socio-economic status, and parental career-related behaviors (support, interference, lack of engagement) were appraised through a four-wave longitudinal study with 5- to 6-month intervals ( N = 744; M age = 15.2 years, 55% girls). Results of the latent class growth analysis revealed five educational identity trajectories (i.e., Undifferentiated, Searching moratorium, Foreclosed, Diffusion, and Achievement). Commitment and in-depth exploration processes were stable for all five trajectories. The undifferentiated trajectory (medium stable levels for all identity processes) was the most prevalent. Parental socio-economic status and perceived parental support correlated positively with achievement and searching moratorium trajectories and negatively with diffused and undifferentiated trajectories. Foreclosed adolescents perceived their parents as the most engaged. Trajectories characterized by high reconsideration of commitment also correlated the most with perceived parental interference. The results bring forward valuable insights into the role parents play in their adolescents’ educational identity development.

Child and adolescent career construction: Lived experiences of an expressive arts group

AbstractThe Child and Adolescent Career Construction Interview (CACCI), adapted from the Career Construction Interview, is a comprehensive career counseling intervention tailored to meet the developmental needs of children and adolescents, and is especially designed to address preadolescent needs in career and social/emotional domains. Because of the dearth of child and adolescent career development research, unique career development needs of preadolescent girls, and potential benefits of a gender homogenous group intervention, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine preadolescent girls’ lived experiences of participating in a CACCI group. Findings of this study have the potential to inform developmentally appropriate career counseling for preadolescents. Through the CACCI, counselors can help preadolescents explore their conception of self and their approach to decision‐making and problem‐solving. By adopting a present‐focused approach, counselors facilitate preadolescents’ development of self‐awareness in the “here and now,” laying the foundation for future self‐exploration as they move through adolescent development.

Role of Family Acculturation Stress in Career Development Among Adolescents From Multicultural Families in Korea

Career indecision is a substantial challenge for multicultural adolescents in South Korea. This study investigated the role of acculturation stress in adolescents and their parents in multicultural families on career decisions in South Korea. Perceived career barriers by adolescents and career-related behaviors of their parents were included as mediators. Using national panel data from 1695 cases longitudinally collected over the 3 years, the mediation analysis was conducted. The results showed that acculturation stress experienced by both adolescents and parents negatively predicted the adolescents’ career decisions. In addition, a sequential mediation effect of parental career-related behaviors and adolescents’ career barriers was found in the relationship between parental acculturation stress and adolescents’ career decisions. These results highlight the importance of acculturative stress experienced by families, and not just by individuals, in understanding the career development of multicultural adolescents. The implications of this study’s findings are discussed.

Career Self-Efficacy, Future Perceptions, and Life Satisfaction: Investigating Two Adolescent Career Development Models

This study examined two models of adolescents’ future perceptions and life satisfaction through a sense of career self-efficacy. Derived from the satisfaction model proposed by social cognitive career theory (SCCT), both examined models address work and family domains but differ in how career self-efficacy is appraised. The integrative model considers career self-efficacy a latent variable, incorporating three self-efficacy types as follows: occupational, spousal, and managing work and family roles. The alternative discrete model considers these three self-efficacy types separately. Israeli Jewish adolescents ( N = 264) completed measures of the three self-efficacy domains, future perceptions, and life satisfaction. Findings for both models extended the SCCT’s satisfaction model’s applicability to adolescents. The broader, integrative definition of career self-efficacy proved superior to the alternative model, reckoning the self-esteem types discretely. Research and practice implications are discussed.

The Impact of Artisanal Mining on Career Development of Adolescents in Zimbabwe

The research explored the impact of artisanal mining on the career development of adolescents at three selected schools in Imbizo District, Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. Interpretivism research philosophy was employed in the study, and a qualitative research method was used. The phenomenological research design was adopted for the study. The sample comprised fifteen school children aged between 14 to 20 years, and six teachers were selected from schools in Imbizo district in Bulawayo province, Zimbabwe, using purposive sampling. Due to COVID-19 regulations, interviews were telephonically, and focus group discussions were conducted online. Interviews were used to collect data from children, while focus group discussions were used to collect data from teachers. The findings revealed that causes of child involvement in artisanal mining include influence from society, poverty, drugs, adventure and the COVID-19 outbreak. The research findings revealed that child involvement in mining brought undesirable behavioural traits such as anti-social behaviour, poor academic performance, health and safety risks and different forms of abuse. Strategies suggested by teachers to mitigate child involvement in illegal mining encompassed legalising the small-scale mines, life skills education, educational support to all vulnerable children, community awareness campaigns, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and government involvement. The children suggested that the government could help by providing them with basic needs like food and paying for their schools and stationery.

A Survey Research Study about the Impact of Paid Summer Internships on Adolescent Career Self-Efficacy

ABSTRACT Adolescence is a pivotal time for career development, and internship programs are one tool that counselors recommend to clients and students to enhance their career self-efficacy. Despite the supposed value in internships, however, little research has examined the impact such programs have on adolescent interns’ career self-efficacy. Research is further scarce on the effect of paid internship programs on adolescents. To fill this gap, we used a retrospective survey research approach to examine a large-scale, paid summer internship program and its impact on adolescents’ (N = 95) Career Self-Efficacy (CSE) and Career Decision Self-Efficacy (CDSE). Participants completed internships in diverse employment fields in which they showed interest. Results showed statistically significant increases in participant CSE and CDSE after their internship experiences, suggesting internships may be a viable method for supporting adolescent career development. Results also indicated that participants’ CSE and CDSE did not continue to increase statistically significantly six months after the internships ceased, suggesting that additional programming may be needed to continually enhance adolescent career development. Given the study findings, counselors may benefit from recommending paid summer internships to adolescent clients and students or advocating that such programs be created in their communities.

Relationship between Marriage Immigrant Mothers’ Acculturative Stress and Their Adolescent Children’s Career Decidedness in South Korea: Mediating Roles of Parenting and School Adjustment

International marriages between Korean men and foreign women from other Asian countries have been increasing since the late 1990s in Korea. This study examines the mediating effects of parenting self-efficacy, career-specific parenting behaviors, and school adjustment on the relationship between immigrant mothers’ acculturative stress and their adolescent children’s career decidedness. Data were collected from 1181 third grade students (583 boys, 598 girls) in Korean middle schools and their foreign mothers who participated in the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study. A structural equation modeling analysis revealed the following multiple mediation process: immigrant mothers’ acculturative stress is indirectly related to their adolescent children’s career decidedness through (1) the dual mediation of parenting self-efficacy and career-specific parenting behaviors; (2) the serial mediation of parenting self-efficacy, career-specific parenting behaviors, and adolescents’ school adjustment; (3) the dual mediation of parenting self-efficacy and adolescents’ school adjustment; and (4) the mediation of adolescents’ school adjustment. This study provides directions for parent education and career counseling to enhance immigrant mothers’ parenting competence and support the positive career development of adolescents from multicultural families. The study, therefore, helps them grow into well-adjusted adults in Korean society, which, in turn, contributes to the well-being of immigrant mothers and their adolescent children.

The Influence of Cultural Program Commitment on Career Perception & Development of Children and Adolescents Using Local Children Centers' Services - The Mediating Effects of Self-Efficacy Moderated by Social Support

The Influence of Cultural Program Commitment on Career Perception & Development of Children and Adolescents Using Local Children Centers' Services - The Mediating Effects of Self-Efficacy Moderated by Social Support

Process of career identity formation among adolescents: components and factors

To qualitatively explore the process and factors that influence career identity formation, data were collected from 18 middle adolescents of age ranged between 15 and 17 years. Thematic analysis revealed that the process of career identity comprised exploration, commitment, and reconsideration components. Eight factors (viz., parental influence, peer influence, religious orientation, media, nationalism, economic conditions, teachers’ power, and personal preferences) appeared to influence the exploration component of career identity. Exploration of possible careers lead towards commitment after being influenced by expected outcomes (economic benefits, religious benefits, social standards, and functional gains). Satisfaction with the expected outcomes of the explored career help participants to reach at commitment. After being committed to any career, identity appeared to be bifurcated into identity achievement and identity confusion. The adolescents who were contented and consistent appeared to achieve their career identity and identity confusion lead towards the reconsideration of their career plans. Eventually, at one side, reconsideration may lead towards exploration with new choices and opportunities. While on the other hand, as a result of reassurance, individuals may revert back towards their previously committed career identity. This paper provides theoretical and practical implications for the career development of adolescents.