Career-specific parental behaviors and career adapting responses in Croatian early and late adolescents

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to validate the Parental Career-related Behaviour scale (PCB) in early (N = 382) and late adolescents (N = 325) in Croatia. The results provided support for the validity and reliability of the PCB in both groups of adolescents. Structural equation modelling results suggested that early and late adolescents did not differ in their perceptions of their parents’ career-related behaviours and that these parenting practices were equally important predictors of students’ career adapting responses. Parental support positively predicted adolescent career readiness, while parental lack of engagement positively predicted adolescent lack of engagement in career construction. Findings suggest that PCB can be used as a valid measure of parental career-related behaviours in early and late adolescents.

KEYWORDS:

• Parenting behaviours
• career construction
• career adapting responses
• early adolescents
• late adolescents

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [M.Š.], upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research was fully supported by Croatian Science Foundation under the project number IP-2019-04-7537 (Free Career Choice).

Notes on contributors

Mara Šimunović

Mara Šimunović is a postdoctoral researcher at the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences in Zagreb, Croatia. Her research interest includes parental socialisation in adolescence, gender-related topics in educational and professional domains, and adolescents’ mental health. She has teaching experience at the undergraduate level in research methodology and statistics and social and health psychology.