Variation in career adaptability according to school variables and parental guidance behaviors

Curiosity, concern, confidence and control are the four core resources of career adaptability (Savickas, 2005), a psychosocial construct associated with many positive outcomes, whether in vocational (Brown et al., 2012; Chan et al., 2015) or academic field (Buyukgoze-Kavas, Duffy, & Douglass, 2015; Wilkins et al., 2014). The purpose of our study was to measure to what extend career adaptability at the end of secondary education is influenced by school variables and parental guidance behaviors. To do so, we surveyed 751 participants (299 boys), all students in their final year of secondary education,using measures of career adaptability (Johnston et al., 2013),parental guidance support (Dietrich & Kracke, 2009) and school and demographic variables, and tested: (a) whether career adaptability was influenced by gender, school sector, localization and SES, and (b) whether career adaptability was determined by a specific type of parental guidance support (engaged, disengaged or interfering). The study demonstrated that (1) boys perceived more control and confidence but less concern than girls, (2) students in vocational programs felt more concerned and expressed more control than those in general secondary settings, (3) students from schools with a higher SES reported lower career adaptability, concern and control than those coming from schools of lower SES, (4) students from schools localized in cities of more than 31550 residents expressed higher career adaptability and control than those from smaller cities, and (5) that engaged guidance parental support was associated with higher levels of career adaptability whereas disengaged guidance parental support was linked with a lower career adaptability. As a discussion, results are compared with findings from other regions and practical and scientific implications are suggested