Crossover effects of parent work-to-family experiences on child work centrality: A moderated mediation model
Steiner, R. S., Hirschi, A., & Wang, M. (2022). Crossover effects of parent work-to-family experiences on child work centrality: A moderated mediation model. Journal of Applied Psychology, , 108(8), 934-953. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001055
Abstract
Work-to-family conflict (WFC) and work-to-family enrichment (WFE) are prevalent experiences among working parents. Past research has highlighted the negative consequences of WFC and the positive implications of WFE for the focal person and crossover effects on significant others, such as spouses. However, research on crossover effects on children is sparse, especially in terms of their emerging work beliefs, such as work centrality. To address this research void, based on social support and role-modeling literature, we propose that parental WFC and WFE relate to child work centrality through perceptions of parental career support (an instrumental path) and parental job satisfaction (a socio-cognitive path). In addition, we investigated whether these effects are moderated by parental intrinsic work motivation. Results from time-lagged data of 193 parent–child dyads in Switzerland (Study 1) showed that parental WFC (but not WFE) negatively related to child perceptions of parental job satisfaction, especially when parental intrinsic work motivation was low. Child perceptions of parental job satisfaction were, in turn, positively related to child work centrality, which was positively associated with their job involvement one year later when they were in vocational education and training. A second study (Study 2) using a sample of German adolescents with additional control variables corroborated the specific relation between child perceptions of parental job satisfaction and child work centrality. We discuss the implications of our findings for the work–family crossover and work centrality literature.
Keywords: crossover, work-to-family conflict, work-to-family enrichment, adolescent work centrality, parent–child dyads
Career Preparedness in Adolescents: An Overview of Empirical Research and Suggestions for Practice
Steiner, R. S., Marciniak, J., Johnston, C. S., & Hirschi, A. (2019). Career preparedness in adolescents: An overview of empirical research and suggestions for practice. In J. A. Athanasou & H. N. Perera (Eds), International handbook of career guidance (2nd Ed, pp. 305-323). Springer.
Abstract
The present chapter provides an overview of the theoretical and empirical research on career preparedness among adolescents and derives implications for practice. We integrate various conceptualisations of career preparedness and suggest that career preparedness can be understood as a multidimensional construct consisting of attitudes, knowledge and competencies, and behaviours. Moreover, we summarise recent research on predictors and outcomes of career preparedness. Research on outcomes highlights that career preparedness is related to beneficial outcomes in various domains of adolescents’ lives (e.g., work, education). Research on predictors demonstrates the relevance of personal factors (e.g., work- related attitudes and motivations) as well as environmental factors (e.g., career interventions) to foster career preparedness in adolescents. Finally, based on the empirical evidence discussed in this chapter, we develop suggestions and guidelines for practitioners on how adolescents can be supported in the process of career preparation.
Keywords: career preparedness; adolescents; career preparation; career maturity; career readiness.
Entwicklung der Berufswahlbereitschaft von Jugendlichen
Marciniak, J., Hirschi, A. (2020). Entwicklung der Berufswahlbereitschaft von Jugendlichen. Panorama, 5, 20-21.
Zentrale Inhalte und förderliche Faktoren der Berufswahlbereitschaft von Jugendlichen wurden in einer systematischen Literaturübersicht identifiziert. In einer Interventionsstudie bei Jugendlichen war der traditionelle Passungsansatz erfolgreicher als ein moderner Ansatz.
Measuring career preparedness among adolescents: development and validation of the career resources questionnaire – Adolescent version
Marciniak, J., Hirschi, A., Johnston, C.S. & Haenggli, M. (2020). Measuring career preparedness among adolescents: development and validation of the career resources questionnaire – Adolescent version. Journal of Career Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072720943838
Abstract
Adolescents need to develop career preparedness to successfully transition from school to work. Many factors represent career preparedness, which are difficult to measure comprehensively and economically. We used a career resources framework to assess key aspects of career preparedness among in-school adolescents, and adapted and validated the Career Resources Questionnaire. The questionnaire assesses 12 distinct aspects of career preparedness (i.e., occupational expertise, labor market knowledge, soft skills, career involvement, career confidence, career clarity, social support from school, family, and friends, networking, career exploration, and self-exploration). We demonstrate the reliability, factor structure, and validity evidences based on internal structure and relations with other variables of the new measure among two samples (N1 = 186; N2 = 1,004). In sum, the study indicates that the assessment can be used by researchers and practitioners to reliably and economically assess several key indicators of career preparedness.
Career preparation among adolescents: A review of key components and directions for future research
Marciniak, J., Johnston, C., Steiner, R., & Hirschi, A. (2022). Career preparedness among adolescents: A review of key components and directions for future research. Journal of Career Development. doi: 10.1177/0894845320943951
Abstract
Adolescents and students are faced with the developmental task of becoming prepared for a career and master future career transitions. Existing research has investigated a range of concepts relating to career preparedness, including predictors and outcomes. However, this body of work is fragmented as a number of different conceptualizations and measurements related to career preparedness exist. Thus, the goal of this review is to provide an overview of the different concepts that have been used to describe and measure career preparedness. Based on a comprehensive review of empirical articles on maturity, readiness, adaptability, preparedness, and preparation, we propose an organizing framework of the diverse attitudes, knowledge and competencies, and behaviors required for career preparedness. We also review the empirical research on predictors and outcomes of career preparedness. We close by identifying issues in the conceptualization and measurement of different constructs and provide suggestions for future research, and implications for theory and practice.
Career adaptability and social support of vocational students leaving upper secondary school.
Hlad'o, P., Kvaskova, L., Jezek, S., Hirschi, A., & Macek, P. (2020). Career Adaptability and Social Support of Vocational Students Leaving Upper Secondary School Journal of Career Assessment, 28(3), 478-495. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072719884299
Abstract
This study used a sample of 3,028 vocational upper secondary Czech students to validate the measurement model of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale—Czech Form, assessing concern, control, curiosity, and confidence as the psychosocial resources for managing occupational transitions, developmental tasks, and work traumas. We moreover examined the associations of parental psychosocial support, parental instrumental support (action), teacher support, and peer support with the four components of career adaptability. As expected, social support provided by significant others was positively associated with career adaptability. Diverse sources of social support related differently to various career adaptability components. Career concern and confidence were asso- ciated simultaneously with parental psychosocial support, teacher support, and peer support while control was associated only with the parental and friend support and curiosity was associated with the social support from teachers and friends. Moreover, parental instrumental support did not show any significant link to career adaptability components.
Keywords
career adaptability, Career Adapt-Abilities Scale, social support, parental support, teacher support, peer support
To Hangover or Not: Trajectories of Job Satisfaction in Adolescent Workforce Newcomers
Valero, D., & Hirschi, A. (2019). To hangover or not: Trajectories of job satisfaction in adolescent workforce newcomers. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28(2), 150-163. doi:10.1080/1359432X.2018.1564278
Abstract
The development of job satisfaction during the first months on the job often indicates ahoneymoon hangover, with high levels of job satisfaction gradually declining. This effect is often explained by disappointed expectations that are informed by previous job experiences. However, research has not established whether a hangover pattern could also be observed in individuals without previous work experience. We explored the development of job satisfaction with four assessment points across the first four months after starting vocational training among 357 Swiss adolescents. On average, a hangover pattern in job satisfaction was confirmed. Using person-centred growth mixture modelling, we identified two groups with distinct trajectories. Although a majority showed a hangover pattern, a third of participants showed stable, high job satisfaction. We presumed that adolescents with more contextual and personal resources (i.e., perceived social support, occupational self-efficacy, core self-evaluations, and perceived person–job fit) would be more likely to avoid a hangover pattern. Results confirmed that the two groups differed significantly in all these resources with the high stable satisfaction group showing higher resources. The results illustrate the importance of a diverse set of resources to facilitate a positive trajectory of job satisfaction at the beginning of work life.
Keywords: job satisfaction, newcomer socialization, growth mixture model, vocational training, social cognitive career theory; conservation of resources
The perceived influence of role models and early career development in native and migrant youth
Valero, D., Keller, A. C., & Hirschi, A. (2019). The Perceived Influence of Role Models and Early Career Development in Native and Migrant Youth. Journal of Career Development, 46(3), 265-279. doi:10.1177/0894845318763905
Abstract
Role models provide youth with valuable information on how to pursue their career goals. However, whether the presence of role models is related to career development beyond social support has not been sufficiently addressed. We investigated how perceived role model influence and social support were related to goal engagement among 191 students and to work engagement among 500 apprentices, and whether these effects were mediated by occupational self-efficacy. We further examined differences between native and migrant youth. Data were analyzed using multi-group structural equation modeling. Our results suggested that engagement was related to role model influence beyond its relationship with social support among students and apprentices. However, this relationship was not found for migrant students. There were no significant indirect effects of role model influence on engagement via self-efficacy among students and apprentices. Our results suggest that role models should be acknowledged as a distinct facilitator of adolescents’ work-related engagement.
Keywords: role models, engagement, social support, migrant youth
Latent profiles of work motivation in adolescents in relation to work expectations, goal engagement, and changes in work experiences
Valero, D. & Hirschi, A. (2016). Latent profiles of work motivation in adolescents in relation to work expectations, goal engagement, and changes in work experiences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 93, 67-80, doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2016.01.003.
Abstract
Motivation plays a key role in successful entry into working life. Based on a cross-sectional and a one-year longitudinal study, we used a person-centered approach to explore work-related motivation (i.e., autonomous goals, positive affect, and occupational self-efficacy) among 577 students in 8th grade (Study 1) and 949 adolescents in vocational training (Study 2). Based on latent profile analysis, in both studies we identified four groups that were characterized by different levels of overall motivation and one group characterized by low positive affect and mean levels in autonomous goals and self-efficacy. Profiles characterized by high levels of motivation showed the highest levels of positive work expectations and goal engagement and the lowest levels of negative work expectations in Study 1 and the highest levels of person-job fit, work engagement, and job satisfaction in Study 2. Moreover, latent difference score analysis showed that motivational profiles predicted changes in person-job fit and work engagement across one year but not in job satisfaction. The results imply that career counselors should be aware of characteristic motivational patterns of clients that may require specific counseling approaches.
Chance events and career decidedness: Latent profiles in relation to work motivation
Hirschi, A., & Valero, D. (2017). Chance events and career decidedness: Latent profiles in relation to work motivation. Career Development Quarterly. 65(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12076
Abstract
Research has shown that chance events affect careers but has not established the nature of their effects. Moreover, the relationship between chance and career decidedness is not well understood. The present study used a person-centered approach with latent profile analysis to examine 312 Swiss adolescents in their first year of vocational training. We identified five qualitatively differing profiles according to levels of perceived chance events and career decidedness: balanced scorers, undecided with mean chance, undecided with high chance, decided with chance, and decided without chance. The groups differed significantly in work motivation (i.e., occupational self-efficacy beliefs, perceived person-job fit, and work engagement). Decided adolescents reported more favorable work motivation regardless of their level of perceived chance events. The results imply that promoting decidedness remains a valuable goal in career counseling despite the occurrence of unpredicted events.
Keywords: chance events; work motivation; career decidedness; adolescents
Hope in adolescent careers: Mediating effects of work motivation on career outcomes in Swiss apprentices
Valero, D., Hirschi, A. & Strauss, K. (2015). Hope in adolescent careers: Mediating effects of work motivation on career outcomes in Swiss apprentices. Journal of Career Development, 42(5), 381-395. doi:10.1177/0894845314566866
Abstract
Being hopeful is critical for individuals who are engaged in vocational pursuits. However, the empirical research examining how and why hope is related to work and career outcomes remains sparse. We evaluate a model that proposes that dispositional hope affects job performance and turnover intentions through increased work motivation in terms of autonomous goals (reason to motivation), positive affective experience at work (energized to motivation), and occupational self efficacy beliefs (can do motivation). The hypotheses were tested among 590 Swiss adolescents in vocational education and training using path analysis and multiple mediation analyses. The results revealed that hope was positively related to all three motivational states and supervisor-rated job performance and negatively related to turnover intentions. Positive affect mediated the effects of hope on turnover intentions and performance. Autonomous goals mediated the effects of hope on turnover intentions. These results support the importance of hope to employee well-being and organizational outcomes.
Keywords: hope, work motivation, performance, turnover intentions, adolescent career
Hope as a resource for career exploration: Examining incremental and cross-lagged effects
Hirschi, A., Abessolo, M., & Froidevaux, A. (2015). Hope as a resource for career exploration: Examining incremental and cross-lagged effects. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86, 38-47. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2014.10.006
Abstract
Hope is believed to be beneficial for vocational pursuits, but the question of how and why hope is related to pivotal career development variables remains largely unaddressed. In a series of three studies, we investigated the relationship between hope and career exploration. Study 1 examined at-risk adolescents (N = 228) in Switzerland and showed that hope explains variance in career exploration beyond the significant effects of generalized self-efficacy beliefs and per ceived social support. Study 2 found the same result among a group (N = 223) of first-year stu dents at a Swiss university with a measure of state hope. Study 3 applied a one-year cross-lagged design with a diverse group of students (N = 266) at a German university to investigate the mu tual effects of dispositional hope and career exploration over time. Although both variables were found to be related within and over time, we could not confirm lagged effects in either direction. The results suggest that hope is significantly correlated with career exploration because both are related to personality and social-contextual variables.
Keywords: hope; career exploration; self-efficacy beliefs; social support
Assessing difficulties in career decision-making among Swiss adolescents with the German My Vocational Situation Scale
Hirschi, A. & Herrmann, A. (2013). Assessing difficulties in career decision-making among Swiss adolescents with the German My Vocational Situation Scale. Swiss Journal of Psychology, 73(1), 43-52. doi:10.1024/1421-0185/a000097
Abstract
Assessing problems in career decision making among adolescents is important for career guidance and research. The present study is the first to investigate among Swiss adolescents the factor structure and convergent validity in relation to personality of the German-language adaptation of the My Vocational Situation Scale. Two preliminary studies (N = 217) suggested that using a 5-point Likert scale response format would increase scale reliability. The confirmatory factor analyses in the main study with two cohorts (n = 341, eighth grade; n = 303, eleventh grade) confirmed that four main factors, which assess problems with identity, decision making, information, and perceived barriers, underlie the data. The barriers factor was differentiated into aspired vocation and personal situation. Construct validity was supported by significant relationships between favorable personality characteristics (emotional stability, extraver sion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, generalized self-efficacy, and internal locus of control) and fewer problems. The results suggest that the vocational identity and barriers scales can be fruitfully applied to research on and the practice of career counseling with adoles cents.
Keywords: career assessment, career decision making, vocational identity, personality
Préparation à la transition de l’école obligatoire à la formation professionnelle
Hirschi, A. (2012). Préparation à la transition de l’école obligatoire à la formation professionnelle [Career preparation in the transition from school to vocational education and training. L’Orientation Scolaire et Professionnelle, 41(2), 255-270. https://doi.org/10.4000/osp.3790
Abstract
This contribution gives an overview of the specific demands and opportunities of the transition from compulsory school to vocational education and training in Switzerland. It argues that structural and psychological factors are important to under stand inequalities of success in this transition. The results of empirical studies are presented which show that factors regard ing personality, social support, and individual engagement in the career preparation process are important factors promot ing interindividual differences in the development of career adaptability and congruent career choices prior to this transi tion. Implications for counseling practice are presented.
Keywords: Vocational guidance, adolescents, career preparation, career adaptability, developmental systems
Vocational identity trajectories: Differences in personality and development of well-being
Hirschi, A. (2012). Vocational identity trajectories: Differences in personality and development of well-being. European Journal of Personality, 26(1), 2-12. doi: 10.1002/per.812
Abstract
This person-centred study investigated the longitudinal patterns of vocational identity development in relation to personality, the development of well-being, gender, nationality and the attended school track among two cohorts of Swiss adolescents in 8th or 9th grade (N ¼ 269) and in 11th or 12th grade (N ¼ 230). The results confirmed the existence of four identity statuses, namely, achievement, foreclosure, moratorium and diffusion. Forty two per cent of students showed progressive patterns of identity development, while 37% remained in their identity status over time. Students with different statuses and status change patterns differed significantly in their personality traits. Higher neuroticism related to the emergence of identity exploration over time, while conscientiousness related to maintaining or achieving a sense ofidentity commitment in terms of achievement or foreclosure. Controlling for the effects of socio-demographics and personality traits, students who reached or maintained a state characterized by identity clarity and commitment showed a relative increase in life satisfaction, while those entering a state of identity crisis or exploration showed a decrease in life satisfaction.
Keywords: vocational identity; career development; adolescence; personality; well-being
Vocational identity as a mediator of the relationship between core self-evaluations and life and job satisfaction.
Hirschi, A. (2011). Vocational identity as a mediator of the relationship between core self-evaluations and life and job satisfaction. Applied Psychology: An International Revieview, 60(4), 622–644. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2011.00450.x
Abstract
This study investigated whether vocational identity achievement mediates the relation between basic personality dispositions (i.e. core self-evaluations) and career and well-being outcomes in terms of job and life satisfaction. Two studies with Swiss adolescents were conducted. Study 1 (N = 310) investigated students in eighth grade, prior to making the transition to vocational education and training (VET); it showed that vocational identity related positively to life satisfaction but that this relationship disappeared once core self-evaluations were controlled. Study 2 (N = 150) investigated students in their second year of VET; it showed that job satisfaction was unrelated to identity and self evaluations. However, identity fully mediated the relation between self evaluations and life satisfaction.
Relation of vocational identity statuses to interest structure among Swiss adolescents
Hirschi, A. (2011). Relation of vocational identity statuses to interest structure among Swiss adolescents. Journal of Career Development, 38(5). 390 - 407. doi:10.1177/0894845310378665
Abstract
Vocational identity is one core component of identity construction in adolescence. The current study investigated whether vocational interest structure in terms of differentiation, coherence, elevation, and interest–aspiration congruence would differentiate among students in vocational identity achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, and diffusion. Swiss students at the beginning of eighth grade (N ¼ 341) participated in the study. Groups were created using cluster analysis based on the dimensions of career exploration and career commitment, and group differences were explored with discriminant analysis. Controlling for sociodemographic variables, higher interest differentiation and elevation distinguished students in achievement/moratorium from those in diffusion. More interest elevation differentiated moratorium from foreclosure.
Keywords: vocational identity, vocational interests, adolescence, career development
Career-choice readiness in adolescence: Developmental trajectories and individual differences
Hirschi, A. (2011). Career-choice readiness in adolescence: Developmental trajectories and individual differences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79(2), 340-348. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2011.05.00
Abstract
Developing career-choice readiness is an important task in adolescence, but current theory and research has provided a rather static view of the phenomenon. The present study investigated the developmentofcareer-choice readiness among a group of325Swissstudents assessed four times every 5 months from seventh through eighth grade. A variable-centered approach applying latent curve modeling showed not only a linear increase of readiness over time but also significant inter-individual differences in the level and development of readiness. Higher levels were predicted by more self-esteem and generalized self-efficacy and fewer perceived barriers while increase in readiness was predicted by increase in occupational information. A person-centered approach applying latent class-growth analysis identified four distinct developmental trajectories: high-increasing (42%), high-decreasing (5%), moderate-increasing (42%), and constantly low (11%). Students with different trajectories showed significant differences in core self-evaluations, occupational knowledge, and barriers. The results suggest that environmental demands promote a developmental trend in readiness development that overrules individual differences for the majority of students. Individual differences affect the level of readiness to a greater extent than the process of its development. Career information seems pivotal for readiness increase.
Effects of orientations to happiness on vocational identity achievement
Hirschi, A. (2011). Effects of orientations to happiness on vocational identity achievement. Career Development Quarterly,59(4), 367-378. doi: 10.1002/j.2161-0045.2011.tb00075.x
Abstract
There is an increased interest in vocational psychology and career counseling regarding the link between career development and well-being, yet little is known about how different ways to achieve well-being or happiness relate to career development. This study explored the relationship between three orientations to happiness (meaning, pleasure, and engagement) and vocational identity achievement among two groups of Swiss adolescents (N = 268, eighth grade; N = 208, eleventh grade). Controlling for the effects of gender, nationality, age, attended school-type, and a happy personality disposition comprised of emotional stability, extraversion, and agreeableness, the results indicated that more orientation to meaning and engagement, but not to pleasure, positively related to identity achievement.
Engagement in adolescent career preparation: Social support, personality, and the development of choice decidedness and congruence
Hirschi, A., Niles, S. G., & Akos, P. (2011). Engagement in adolescent career preparation: Social support, personality, and the development of choice decidedness and congruence. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 173-182. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.12.009
Abstract
This longitudinal panel study investigated predictors and outcomesof active engagement in career preparation among 349 Swiss adolescents from the beginning to the end of eighth grade. Latent variable structural equation modeling was applied. The results showed that engagement in terms of self- and environmental-exploration and active career planning related positively to interindividual increases in career decidedness and choice congruence. More perceived social support, early goal decidedness, and particular personality traits predicted more engagement. Support and personality impacted outcomes only mediated throughengagement.Earlydecidednessandcongruenceweresignificantpredictorsof their respective later levels. Implications for practice are presented.