Configuration of Parent-Reported and Adolescent-Perceived Career-Related Parenting Practice and Adolescents’ Career Development: A Person-Centered, Longitudinal Analysis of Chinese Parent–Adolescent Dyads

Abstract

Adolescents’ career development is associated with various contextual factors, among which career-related parenting practice is particularly important. Parents tend to engage in a multitude of career-related parenting practice, and parents and adolescents often have different perceptions of the same parenting practice. However, prior research on career-related parenting practice has predominately relied on variable-centered approaches and used reports exclusively from either adolescents or parents. What still remains inadequately understood is the heterogeneity in the within-family configuration of various career-related parenting processes and the implications of (dis)concordance between parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions for adolescents’ career development. To address these gaps, using data from 706 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 12.08, SD = 1.52; 45.4% females) and their parents, this study utilized latent profile analyses and incorporated both parents’ and adolescents’ reports to investigate the configuration of adolescents’ perceived career-related parenting practice (i.e., support, interference, and barriers to engagement), parent–adolescent career congruence, and parents’ reported career-related support (i.e., emotional support, modeling, and instrument assistance). Four distinct profiles were identified: “Congruent-highly supportive,” “Somewhat incongruence-disengaged,” “Congruent-averagely supportive,” and “Highly incongruent-ambivalent.” Between-profile differences in adolescents’ career developmental outcomes (i.e., career ambivalence and career decision-making self-efficacy) 6 months later were also examined. Adolescents in the “Congruent-highly supportive” and the “Congruent-averagely supportive” groups reported higher levels of career decision-making self-efficacy than did those in the “Highly incongruent-ambivalent” group. In contrast, career ambivalence did not vary across profiles. These results highlighted the importance of using the person-centered configural approach and simultaneously considering both parents’ and adolescents’ reports of career-related parenting practice. Theoretical and practical implications were also discussed.