Transmission of work values and occupational prestige between parents and their adolescents

The purpose of this study is to examine the transmission of work values and occupational prestige between parents and their adolescents in various socioeconomic classes. Seventy-three families participated in this study and twenty-five of the families had both the biological fathers and mothers responding to the surveys. Parent participants provided information about their occupational prestige and completed the Occupational Value Orientation Scale. Adolescent participants completed the Occupational Value Orientation Scale and the Occupational Standing Scale. Stepwise regression analyses were conducted to test four hypotheses related to the vocational transmission theory. For families with both parents participating in this study, the results indicated that the mother\u27s Extrinsic-Orientation work value was a significant predictor for her adolescent\u27s Extrinsic-Orientation work value. None of the other predictors (i.e., Self-Expression Orientation and People-Orientation work values, parental education level, and parental occupational prestige) contributed significant variance to adolescent work values or occupational aspirations. Limitations of this study and further research are discussed