Adolescents' Occupational and Educational Aspirations and Expectations:Links to High School Activities and Adult Educational Attainment

摘要

This longitudinal study explored adolescents' future-oriented cognitions, current activities, and later educa-tional attainment using data from 317 adolescents (55% female; mean age 14.98 years, SD 0.85)followed into early adulthood. Aspirations and expectations regarding work and education showed modeststability from year to year. Exploration of the reciprocal relations between these cognitions and adolescents'activities supported both unidirectional and bidirectional effects, with different patterns emerging for aspira-tions and expectations. In multiple regression analyses, future-oriented cognitions predicted adult educationalattainment; follow-up analyses indicated that the effect of adolescents' expectations was partially mediated byparticipation in extracurricular activities. These results suggest a potentially important influence of adoles-cents' future-oriented cognitions on their current behavior and future attainments.