A Longitudinal Study of Vocational Maturity and Ethnic Identity Development

This study examines longitudinally the development of vocational maturity and ethnic identity in a majority and a minority group of 641 students in the Province of Québec, Canada. Ethnic identity and four components of vocational maturity were assessed in four cohorts at three times of measurement. Results show clearly different developmental trends in both ethnic identity and in vocational maturity for majority and minority groups: The minority group showed a linear increase in ethnic identity over time, while the majority group showed a decrease starting with the second time of measurement; vocational maturity components showed a more complex pattern of changes but demonstrated that minority participants matured significantly earlier than those from the majority group. There was a positive relationship between ethnic identity and vocational maturity for both groups.