The Influence of Individual and Contextual Factors on the Vocational Choices of Adolescents and Their Impact on Well-Being

Abstract

Adolescents who have to make decisions regarding their future career or academic path can be greatly influenced by parental expectations and other individual and contextual factors. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of adolescent–parent career congruence on adolescents’ well-being and future intention to enroll in a university course. The recruitment of participants took place through a combination of convenience sampling and snowball sampling. A sample of 142 high school students who are managing their decisions for the future completed an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed through a path analysis (SEM) with observed variables, and different indices were evaluated to check the model goodness of fit. The data show that congruence with parents’ wishes has a significant effect on academic motivation, work hope and mattering, which in turn have a positive and significant effect on both future intentions to undertake university studies and on the participants’ occupational well-being. In line with past studies, our results demonstrate correlations between adolescent–parent career congruence in career exploration and decision making, pointing out in particular the influence due to complementary congruence with mothers. Furthermore, our study underscores the important role played by both individual and contextual factors in adolescent well-being and intentions for their future. Finally, implications for the practice of vocational guidance practitioners are discussed.

Bridging the Gap between Theoretical Learning and Practical Application: A Qualitative Study in the Italian Educational Context

“…According to our sample, the results of the ANOVA can confirm how positive the impact of self-determination is: when students perform their own choice without school or family influences, they also are more satisfied with the SWA experience. The past literature has already investigated the role of contextual influences on students' well-being in making informed career or academic choices [76,77].…”

Academic Motivation of Students Experiencing Person-Environment Misfit in Social Work Educational Settings: The Role of Social Dominance Orientation

“…Related to the cross-sectional design of the present study, future studies should also employ a longitudinal design to examine whether a misfit experienced over time can further alter an individual's motivational pattern, for example, by decreasing intrinsic motivation or increasing extrinsic motivation. Another interesting longitudinal line of research could be devoted to examining the role of social influence in shaping students' decisions [46] to enroll in a social work major and in the persistence of students' academic motivation over time. For example, future studies could test whether students who are extrinsically motivated prior to enrolling in a particular major (i.e., conforming to the expectations of others) can replicate this pattern over time (i.e., during the course of study) and whether the degree of SDO and P-E fit or misfit can enhance their external regulation of motivation.…”

How and When Generalized Reciprocity and Negative Reciprocity Influence Employees’ Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Strength Use and the Mediating Roles of Intrinsic Motivation and Organizational Obstruction

“…To date, researchers have increased their focus on the mediating role of IM in the associations between contextual factors and employees’ well-being [ 47 , 48 ]. For example, work hope goals can increase individuals’ motivation, which in turn influences their well-being [ 49 ], and job demands significantly influence employees’ well-being through autonomous motivation [ 44 ]. IM is one important facet of autonomous motivation [ 44 ].…”