Parental dependence, occupational motivations and relationships with parents and peers in adolescents

Abstract

The vocational and occupational decision is one of the important development tasks that adolescents have. In this way, the purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the relationship between occupational motivations, especially parental dependence, and perceived support and negative interactions with parents and peers. For this purpose, an intentional sample of 651 adolescents, of both sexes, aged between 16 and 20 years, who attended secondary school in six public and private schools in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina, was obtained. The participants answered the CUMO questionnaire of occupational motivations and the Furman and Buhrmester Inventory for parents, friends and siblings. We found high levels of motivation for job satisfaction and anxiety towards the future and low levels of altruism. High levels of parental support were found, mainly love and trustworthy alliance; High levels of support for siblings and friends were also detected. The results showed low levels of negative interactions, especially in the bond with friends. The dependency for men and women was explained by 36% and 39% by the perception of the links with parents and peers. Conclusions explain the implications of these findings for vocational guidance.