Resources and Personal Adjustment for Career Transitions Among Adolescents: A Latent Profile Analysis

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Career transitions are considered to be the most challenging tasks in adolescence. Personal resources are important factors in coping with the difficulties encountered during transitions and help individuals to adjust more smoothly to these transitions. Using a person-centered approach, this study aims to identify typologies of personal resources in adolescents, that is career adaptability, hope, optimism and resilience and their association with personal adjustment. METHODS: Six hundred and twenty six Italian adolescents (M = 17.18; SD = 0.52) participated in the study. First, a latent profile analysis was conducted using personal resources. Then, a MANOVA was conducted to capture the association of resource profiles with life satisfaction and anxiety/depression. RESULTS: The results of the profile analysis revealed four profiles of personal resources. Pessimists (n = 123), Unbalanced (n = 63), Career Maladjusted (n = 187), and Career Adjusted (n = 253). The profile with high resources (Career Adjusted) show a higher personal adjustment, while profiles with low resources show lower personal adjustment. In particular, the Unbalanced profile, characterized by the lowest level of hope and resilience, shows the lowest personal adjustment with medium-high anxiety/depression and low life satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that career adaptability resources alone may not be sufficient to promote good personal adaptation and therefore the readiness to cope with career transitions in adolescence, but that these should be accompanied, in particular, by good levels of hope and resilience.

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