Cross-lagged relationships between career aspirations and goal orientation in early adolescents
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Author(s)
Creed, Peter
Tilbury, Clare
Buys, Nick
Crawford, Meegan
Year published
2011
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
We surveyed 217 students (145 girls; average age = 14.6 years) on two occasions, twelve months apart, on measures of career aspirations (job aspirations, job expectations, educational aspirations) and goal orientation (learning, performance-prove, performance-avoid), and tested the causal relationship between goal orientation and aspirations. We assessed five plausible cross-lagged models (a baseline model testing stability and synchronous effects only, a standard causal model with added cross-lagged paths from goal orientation at T1 to the outcome variables at T2, a reverse-causation model, a reciprocal-causation model, and ...
View more >We surveyed 217 students (145 girls; average age = 14.6 years) on two occasions, twelve months apart, on measures of career aspirations (job aspirations, job expectations, educational aspirations) and goal orientation (learning, performance-prove, performance-avoid), and tested the causal relationship between goal orientation and aspirations. We assessed five plausible cross-lagged models (a baseline model testing stability and synchronous effects only, a standard causal model with added cross-lagged paths from goal orientation at T1 to the outcome variables at T2, a reverse-causation model, a reciprocal-causation model, and a model of best fit). We found significant, synchronous associations at T1 and T2 between goal orientation and career aspiration, significant stability coefficients for all variables, and support for a standard causal model, with changes in performance-prove and performance-avoid orientations, but not learning orientation, associated with changes in career aspirations over time. We discuss the outcomes in relation to theory and the implications for practitioners.
View less >
View more >We surveyed 217 students (145 girls; average age = 14.6 years) on two occasions, twelve months apart, on measures of career aspirations (job aspirations, job expectations, educational aspirations) and goal orientation (learning, performance-prove, performance-avoid), and tested the causal relationship between goal orientation and aspirations. We assessed five plausible cross-lagged models (a baseline model testing stability and synchronous effects only, a standard causal model with added cross-lagged paths from goal orientation at T1 to the outcome variables at T2, a reverse-causation model, a reciprocal-causation model, and a model of best fit). We found significant, synchronous associations at T1 and T2 between goal orientation and career aspiration, significant stability coefficients for all variables, and support for a standard causal model, with changes in performance-prove and performance-avoid orientations, but not learning orientation, associated with changes in career aspirations over time. We discuss the outcomes in relation to theory and the implications for practitioners.
View less >
Journal Title
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Volume
78
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2011 Elsevier. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Counselling, wellbeing and community services
Applied and developmental psychology
Human resources and industrial relations
Strategy, management and organisational behaviour