Correlates of gendered vocational development from middle childhood to young adulthood

Abstract

Most research on the developmental correlates of gendered vocational aspirations and attainment utilizes cross-sectional designs and begins in adolescence or later. This study used longitudinal data collected from U.S. youth from age 11 to 26 to: (1) chart their gendered vocational development, that is, the gender typicality of vocational aspirations in middle childhood and adolescence and attainment in young adulthood; and (2) examine childhood gendered attributes as predictors of gendered vocational development. Results revealed that gendered vocational development differed for men and women: women's aspirations in childhood and adolescence were less gender-typical compared to their vocational fields attained in young adulthood, whereas men's remained gender-typical from childhood to young adulthood. Further, childhood attributes predicted aspirations and attainment and their developmental trajectory.