engleski

The effects of parental and peer support on career aspirations of adolescents

Social support facilitates positive career-related traits, competencies and career transition outcomes. The quality and quantity of social support for adolescents’ career aspirations differ as they are transiting from high school to work or to further education. During this transition period, two sources of support, parents and peers, are used differentially. Peers provide support for daily life of the adolescent, whereas parents continue to be the major source of support for long-term life style choices such as career considerations. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore how social support from parents and peers contribute to adolescent’s career aspiration. The participants were 938 Croatian adolescents aged 17-18. The data were collected online at the beginning of their last grade of high-school. Parental support was measured using the Parental Career-Related Behaviors (Dietrich & Kracke, 2009) and the Career-Related Parent Support Scale (Turner et al., 2003). The scale for measuring peer support was developed for the purposes of this study. Adolescents’ career aspirations were assessed with the modified Career Aspiration Scale (Gray & O’Brien, 2007). Results showed that parental and peer support are positively related to adolescents’ career and educational aspirations. The findings are discussed in the context of parental and peer influence on career aspirations of adolescents and indicate that adolescents receive and require different level of support and guidance form parents and peers regarding their career aspirations.

parental support ; peer support ; career aspirations ; adolescence

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