Individual Differences in Children's Occupational Aspirations as a Function of Parental Traditionality

摘要

The current study was designed to test the application of the social-cognitive theory of gender development in predicting the traditionality of children's occupational aspirations (Bussey and Bandura 1999). Of primary interest was the influence of children's efficacy for nontraditional tasks on their occupational aspirations. Participants were 150 children and their mothers from the southern United States. Mothers reported their gendered attitudes, their perception of their children's skills, and their family's division of paid and unpaid labor. Children reported their occupational aspirations and efficacy for traditional and nontraditional skills, occupations, and school topics. Mothers who reported nontraditional attitudes had children with nontraditional occupational aspirations. This association was mediated by children's efficacy for nontraditional tasks, indicating some support for the social-cognitive theory.