The role of personality, parents and peers in adolescents career exploration

The rule of individual characteristics, parental behaviours and peers for occupational exploration was examined in a sample of 192 German ninth graders (80 girls, 112 boys) from middle-track schools. The adolescents completed questionnaires at two points of measurement which were 6 months apart. The results showed that individual characteristics which reflected an active and constructive approach to developmental demands were correlated with more intense occupational exploration. Child-centred parental behaviours were also correlated positively with information-seeking behaviours. Moreover, parental behaviours predicted change in exploration over the observed time period. Concerning the role of peers which was often neglected in career development theory, the results showed that frequent talks with peers about career-related issues were significantly associated with the intensity of information-seeking behaviours and, at the same time, predicted an intensification of occupational exploration during the following 6-month period. The findings suggest that it would be fruitful to consider more thoroughly the role of peers in future research on adolescents' career development. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents.