“What Can I Be When I Grow Up?”—The Influence of Own and Others’ Career Expectations on Adolescents’ Perception of Stress in Their Career Orientation Phase

Angela Ulrich, Kerstin Helker and Katharina Losekamm
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Angela Ulrich: Department of Educational Science, University of Applied Labour Studies (HdBA), Seckenheimer Landstraße 16, 68163 Mannheim, Germany
Kerstin Helker: Human Technology Center, RWTH Aachen University, Theaterplatz 14, 52056 Aachen, Germany
Katharina Losekamm: Human Technology Center, RWTH Aachen University, Theaterplatz 14, 52056 Aachen, Germany

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: The future that adolescents are growing up to live and work in becomes increasingly complex and vague, making job choice a moving target. Thus, adolescents develop and are confronted with a number of different options for what job they wish to take up and have to balance their own and their social environment’s job aspirations for them. Prior research has suggested including more dynamic approaches to understanding career choice and counseling. In this research, we therefore draw on the possible selves approach and aim at understanding how far imbalance between adolescents’ own and their social environments’ expectations for their vocational future will cause stress. In an online mixed-methods study, 163 adolescent participants, aged 14–22, reported their own and their parents’, teachers’, and friends’ emotions, future orientation, and perceived stress regarding the career choice. Results showed a variety of expectations for future careers held by participants and their social environment, as well as emotions regarding these expectations. Positive deactivating emotions (satisfaction and relief) negatively predicted adolescents’ stress and strain and the older and closer to final job choice participants were, the more they reported stress and strain. These findings suggest including adolescents’ social environment in the career choice process.

Keywords: career orientation; future time perspectives; life design; possible selves; self design; stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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