Developmental trajectories and reciprocal associations between career adaptability and vocational identity: A three-wave longitudinal study with adolescents
Section snippets
Career adaptability
Career adaptability stands as a central component in adolescent vocational development. It is a psychosocial construct that encompasses personal readiness and resources for dealing with present and future career problems (Savickas, 2013, Savickas and Porfeli, 2012a). In this context, career adapt-abilities are general adaptive resources and strategies that people employ in the process of career construction while approaching critical situations (e.g., age-specific developmental tasks). The four
Participants and procedure
Our study uses data from the ongoing longitudinal study Transylvania Adolescent Identity Development Study (TRAIDES). We collected data from seven schools located in four towns in the North-Western part of Romania. Students from the 8th to the 12th grade completed paper-and-pencil questionnaires at three measurement waves 3 to 4 months apart during one academic year. Students completed all questionnaires in classrooms during school hours. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous.
Preliminary analyses
Mean scores and standard deviations for study variables and correlation coefficients between study variables appear in Table 1, Table 2. At all time-points the 4Cs of career adaptability related positively to vocational commitment and exploration processes.
Latent growth curve analyses
The first purpose of this study was to examine the development of career adaptability and vocational identity in adolescents. In order to address this aim, we analyzed mean-level changes in the four dimensions of career adaptability and in
Discussion
The vocational domain represents a key component of adolescent development, with career adaptability and vocational identity standing as pillars in the facilitation of vocational decision-making (Savickas, 2005, Skorikov and Vondracek, 2011). More longitudinal research is needed for an in-depth understanding of how these dimensions evolve in adolescence and how they are related to each other across time. Existing literature brought forward the need to analyze career adaptability and vocational
Conclusions
In spite of these limitations, the present study has significant implications for mapping adolescent career development. We shed more light on the longitudinal trajectories and relations between two core components of adolescent vocational development: career adaptability and vocational identity. In the course of one academic year these dimensions changed significantly and were interwoven in complex prediction patterns. Hence, we brought forward the importance of analyzing together the two
References (50)
- et al.
Dynamics of perceived parenting and identity formation in late adolescence
Journal of Adolescence
(2008) - et al.
Identity-in-context is not yet identity development-in-context
Journal of Adolescence
(2008) - et al.
The relationship between career adaptability, person and situation variables, and career concerns in young adults
Journal of Vocational Behavior
(2009) - et al.
Leaving high school: The influence and consequences for psychological well-being and career-related confidence
Journal of Adolescence
(2003) - et al.
Career development and personal functioning differences between work-bound and non-work bound students
Journal of Vocational Behavior
(2010) - et al.
Capturing the dynamics of identity formation in various ethnic groups: Development and validation of a three-dimensional model
Journal of Adolescence
(2008) - et al.
Choosing a major in higher education: Profiles of students' decision-making process
Contemporary Educational Psychology
(2012) - et al.
Career-specific parental behaviors, career exploration and career adaptability: A three-wave investigation among Chinese undergraduates
Journal of Vocational Behavior
(2015) - et al.
Child vocational development: A review and reconsideration
Journal of Vocational Behavior
(2005) Career adaptability development in adolescence: Multiple predictors and effect on sense of power and life satisfaction
Journal of Vocational Behavior
(2009)
A multi-dimensional measure of vocational identity status
Journal of Adolescence
Career adapt-abilities scale—France form: Psychometric properties and relationships to anxiety and motivation
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Identity in vocational development
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Continuity in adolescent career preparation and its effects on adjustment
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Career Adapt-Abilities Scale—Italian form: Psychometric properties and relationships to breadth of interests, quality of life, and perceived barriers
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Career preparation: A longitudinal, process-oriented examination
Journal of Vocational Behavior
The evolution of the boundaryless career concept: Examining physical and psychological mobility
Journal of Vocational Behavior
The relationship of identity status to career indecision during adolescence
Journal of Adolescence
The relationship among positive emotional dispositions, career adaptability, and satisfaction in Italian high school students
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Interpreting effect sizes when controlling for stability effects in longitudinal autoregressive models: Implications for psychological science
The European Journal of Developmental Psychology
Structural equations with latent variables
Structural equation modeling with Mplus: Basic concepts, applications, and programming
Predicting two components of career maturity in school based adolescents
Journal of Career Development
A cross-national study of identity status in Dutch and Italian adolescents: Status distributions and correlates
European Psychologist
Cited by (129)
Exploring the Structure of Career Narratives: The Application of the Narrative Identity Assessment Model
2024, Journal of Career DevelopmentEducational identity processes in adolescence: An analysis of longitudinal evidence and the role of educational systems
2024, Child Development Perspectives