Who lower their aspirations? The development and protective factors of college-associated career aspirations in adolescence

Publication date: Available online 13 December 2019Source: Journal of Vocational BehaviorAuthor(s): Yannan Gao, Jacquelynne EcclesAbstractHaving college-associated career aspirations has long-term implications for adolescents' education and career attainment. However, important precursors of adolescents' career aspirations, such as academic motivation and performance, decline during middle school and high school, leaving college-associated career aspirations at risk. In our study, we investigated the changes in adolescents' college-related career aspirations from 7th to 11th grade and examined protective factors for negative development. Using longitudinal data (N = 706, 54% girls; 60% African American, 29% European American, 11% other ethnic groups or multiracial/multiethnic), we found four distinct patterns: stable high (N = 398), decrease (N = 136), increase (N = 102) and stable low (N = 70). Higher academic subjective task values and parent education level predict less probability of lowering one's aspirations, whereas no variable was found to uniquely predict the probability of increasing one's aspirations. Findings suggest that the development of career aspirations exhibits significant heterogeneity in adolescence. Future studies should investigate the association between the patterns of career aspiration and long-term career outcomes.
Source: Journal of Vocational Behavior - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research