Career development of youth: a nationwide study

The primary objective of the study described here was to assess and summarize core aspects of the career development of American youth. A nationally representative sample of approximately 32,000 8th, 9th, and 11th graders in 200 schools participated in the study in the spring of 1973. This article focuses on the study's more salient findings and presents results in terms of what students say, do, and know about career development. A major finding is the sharp contrast between students' need for help with career planning and the help they have been receiving. In general, results support the current emphasis on career guidance and career education.     

Career pathfinders: a qualitative study of career development

This paper examined the perceptions of career path and issues of MBA students in response to Lore's The Pathfinder, a comprehensive career-planning model. Using internet discussion boards, an interactive dialogue was mentioned by participants in response to the components of Lore's model. The sample consisted of 50 fully employed MBA students enrolled in a course on self-assessment and career planning. A total of 1,781 separate postings were made and analyzed, using inductive analysis derived from discussion threads based on Lore's categories: comments on Lore's Pathfinder model, living a life you love (what's the holdup, career fantasies, work and family issues, and career selection), how to get there from here (commitment and future from the present), and designing your future career. Findings indicated several interesting trends in the career planning of current MBA students, particularly the importance of self or self-reflective observations in real time as students who are also fully employed formulate career plans. Implications for psychologists and career counselors, career development models, and suggestions for research are presented.     

The impact of adolescent girls' life concerns and leisure activities on body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and self-esteem.

The aim of this study was to situate adolescent girls' body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and self-esteem in the context of their life concerns and leisure activities. Questionnaires containing measures of life concerns, leisure activities, body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and self-esteem were administered to 306 girls with a mean age of 16 years. It was found that although academic success and intelligence were rated as the most important life concerns, an emphasis on slimness was most strongly linked to body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and global self-esteem. An emphasis on popularity with girls also was related to body dissatisfaction, and hours spent watching television were related to lower self-esteem. In contrast, emphasis on sport seemed to serve a protective function. It was concluded that adolescent girls who have a high concern for slimness should be assisted in decreasing this emphasis in order to improve their general well-being.     

Career development and personal functioning differences between work-bound and non-work bound students

We surveyed 506 Australian high school students on career development (exploration, planning, job-knowledge, decision-making, indecision), personal functioning (well-being, self-esteem, life satisfaction, school satisfaction) and control variables (parent education, school achievement), and tested differences among work-bound, college-bound and university-bound students. The work-bound students had the poorest career development and personal functioning, the university-bound students the highest, with the college-bound students falling in-between the other two groups. Work-bound students did poorest, even after controlling for parent education and school achievement. The results suggest a relationship between career development and personal functioning in high school students.     

Eytan: The early development of a gifted child artist

The early graphic development of a precociously gifted child artist, Eytan, for whom a continuous record of drawings exists, is examined in the light of a set of theoretically‐based questions. These concern the course of graphic development, the role of perspective drawings, and the extent to which a precocious achievement of perspective drawing in childhood is a mark of pathology. The issue of giftedness as precocious development or as the mark of unique qualities, and the relationship between art and cognition are also considered.     

Career and personal counseling: Comparing process and outcome

Increasingly, there is a call to support the integration of career and personal counseling. However, few empirical studies have examined the overlap between these 2 domains. This study examined how career and personal counseling compared on both process and outcome measures. The participants included real clients who sought career and personal counseling at 3 college counseling centers in the U.S. The findings indicated that except in the area of expectations about counseling, there were no significant differences between career counseling and personal counseling. The implications for counseling practice and training are discussed.     

Gender differences in adolescent concerns and emotional well-being: perceptions of Singaporean adolescent students

Although much has been written about adolescent adjustment and coping in Western countries, relatively little is known about similar issues in Asia. The authors examined the emotional adjustment of young adolescents in Singapore. They report adolescent concerns and how they influence adaptive functioning and emotional well-being. Data were obtained from three self-report measures: the Adolescent Concerns Measure (R. P Ang, W. H. Chong, V. S. Huan, & L. S. Yeo, in press), selected scales of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children Personality Self-Report (C. R. Reynolds & R. W. Kamphaus, 1998), and the Emotional Distress Scale of the Reynolds Adolescent Adjustment Screening Inventory (W. M. Reynolds, 2001). Emotional well-being emerged as a dominant concern for Singaporean youths with significant gender differences. Girls reported a more positive attitude toward school, better friendship skills, and stronger relationships with parents than did boys. However, girls registered significantly greater worries about self and emotional distress compared to boys. The authors discuss implications for teachers and mental health professionals.     

Navigating personal and relational concerns: the quest for equilibrium

The authors' personal-relational equilibrium model suggests that people come to seek equilibrium in their dedication to personal and relational concerns in that these 2 important needs cannot always be gratified simultaneously. The authors proposed that the experience of personal-relational disequilibrium motivates attempts to restore equilibrium and that achieving equilibrium promotes life satisfaction. Four studies revealed good support for the model. In Study 1, a manipulation of anticipated future disequilibrium (vs. equilibrium) as a result of overdedication to either the personal or relational domain caused reduced motivation to address concerns in that domain and increased motivation toward the complementary domain. In Study 2, narratives describing disequilibrium experiences (vs. equilibrium experiences) exhibited increased motivation to restore equilibrium and reduced life satisfaction. In Study 3, diary reports of everyday disequilibrium were associated with increased same-day motivation to restore equilibrium, reduced same-day life satisfaction, and increased next-day dedication of effort to the complementary domain. In Study 4, experiences of disequilibrium predicted reduced well-being 6 months later. Collectively, these findings extend knowledge of how people regulate themselves toward equilibrium in pursuing 2 fundamental human concerns.     

Longitudinal analysis of adolescent girls' aspirations at school and perceptions of popularity

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine changes in adolescent girls' aspirations at school and perceptions of popularity as they matured, and to determine if there were any differences between participants and nonparticipants on interschool teams. One hundred forty girls completed a questionnaire each year for five years from Grades 6 to 10 (ages 11 to 15), answering the following questions: What would you most like to do at school? Which of the following make you most popular among your friends? and How many interschool teams have you been on? For aspirations at school the overwhelming first choice of the total sample was making good grades; participants ranked being good at sports second; nonparticipants ranked being popular second. For the total sample, being popular increased slightly in importance, while sports decreased slightly over the five years. As for perceptions of popularity, grades were most important in Grades 6 and 10, while looks were ranked first during junior high school. Interschool participants ranked grades and sports first or second, while nonparticipants chose looks as most important for achieving popularity.     

Spiritual and religious concerns of the hospitalized adolescent

One of the tasks of adolescence is the development of a value system. The way in which these values are expressed in relationship to illness in adolescence, however, has not been studied. The authors conducted a social science survey to study the spiritual concerns of hospitalized adolescents. One hundred and fourteen hospitalized adolescents, ranging in age from 11 to 19, answered a Likert scale questionnaire on Spiritual and Religious Concerns (SRQ). Analysis of variance was performed to correlate responses with sex, race, religion, type of school, and severity of illness. A subgroup of hospitalized adolescents, those with more serious disease, experienced intensified spiritual and religious concerns. In response to the questionnaire, over 15% of the patients requested further help. Our findings suggest that training in adolescent health care and the provision of services to teenagers ought to include teaching in the area of spiritual and religious values of teenagers, with emphasis on the hospitalized adolescent.     

Examination of a model of multiple sociocultural influences on adolescent girls' body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint

This study examined the perceived role of three types of sociocultural agents (peers, parents, and media) in influencing body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint in adolescent girls. Participants were 577 grade 10 girls from six schools who completed questionnaires in class and had height and weight measured. Two path analyses resulted in a similar pattern. While current body size strongly predicted ideal body size and body dissatisfaction, perceived influence of multiple sociocultural agents regarding thinness also had a direct relationship with body ideal and dissatisfaction. Dietary restraint was predicted directly from body dissatisfaction and sociocultural influences. Peers, parents, and media varied in their perceived influence. The findings support the idea that those girls who show the most body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint live in a subculture supporting a thin ideal and encouraging dieting.     

Levels of emotional awareness scale among Iranian gifted and nongifted high school students

The purpose of this study was to investigate emotional awareness among Iranian high school students and to examine possible sex differences in emotional awareness. The participants were 388 gifted and nongifted students. They completed the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale-A. Analysis showed girls had significantly higher scores than boys in the total sample. The mean score on emotional awareness of gifted girls was significantly lower than that of nongifted girls. Potential implications of these findings are offered.     

Criteria of personal, boys', and girls' popularity as ranked by Greek adolescents

This study examined what Greek adolescents believe are the most important criteria of personal, boys', and girls' popularity in their age group. Participants were 364 students aged between 12 and 15 years. Seven main criteria of popularity were identified: sport competence, physical appearance, academic ability, being a good friend, being sociable, having a good sense of humor, and having the 'right circle of friends'. With regard to personal popularity, being a good friend and being sociable were the two most highly ranked criteria for both boys and girls across all ages. Boys and girls perceived differently the most important criteria of boys' and girls' popularity. Specifically, for same-sex popularity, being a good friend was the most highly ranked criterion, whereas for other-sex popularity, physical attractiveness was the most highly ranked criterion. The findings imply that friendship and social affiliation are the most important criteria of popularity in Greek adolescents.