1. Objectifs

Intentions :
This «study seeks to bridge this gap by empirically examining distinct developmental patterns of vocational exploration, using a longitudinal and person-centred perspective, and to identify potential predictors for these patterns, in this case parental behaviors.» (p. 3)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Data comes from a 6-year longitudinal study on vocational decision-making. Participants were selected from a stratified sample of 2,500 adolescents enrolled in the third of the five years of high school (Secondary 3) during the 2011-2012 academic year, which was provided by the Quebec Ministry of Education. Adolescents and their parents were contacted by phone and invited to participate to the study. A total of 1109 families agreed to participate […].» (p. 8)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«This research demonstrated that youth’s vocational exploration follows distinct developmental trajectories from mid-adolescence to emerging adulthood and that a pattern characterized by higher and increasing levels of exploration was more likely […] when parents supported the satisfaction of their children’s psychological needs, […] in girls, and […] in adolescents exposed to higher sociofamilial adversity. While family characteristics are more difficult to modify than specific behaviors, interventions should aim to increase parental NSB [need supporting behaviors], and hopefully diminishing the intake of family characteristics by increasing adolescents’ opportunities for exploration. One strategy would be for educational services branch and education professionals to involve parents in educational and vocational development by encouraging the adoption of NSB and reducing the use of behaviors that thwart adolescents’ psychological needs satisfaction […]. Another strategy would be to modify the high school curriculum to include activities that foster self and environment exploration.» (p. 16) «Family characteristics (i.e., family structure, SES [socioeconomic status], and parents’ education levels) also predicted trajectory group membership. A counterintuitive finding was obtained where the lowest pattern of vocational exploration (i.e., Stable and Low) was best predicted by a lower sociofamilial adversity. These findings contrast with those of past studies that found adolescents living in wealthier families to explore more than adolescents from lower socioeconomic strata – who are typically provided with fewer opportunities to explore […].» (p. 15)