The Influence of Parents on Adolescents’ Vocational Aspirations

The family background, especially the parents, plays a significant role in vocational development and occupational achievement. To date, very little is known about the influence of family background on occupational ambitions or goals. This study aims to explore how parents and their educational background influence the status (prestige) of adolescents’ vocational aspirations. Therefore, we surveyed students of lower secondary education in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Aiming to explain variances in the students’ occupational ambitions, we analysed path models based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) by Lent et al. (1994). Our data support basic assumptions of the SCCT. Thus, we could verify the impact of students’ past performances (grades) on their occupational ambitions, mediated by self-efficacy and outcome expectations. In addition, we found that family background, mothers in particular, influences occupational ambitions.