Parental involvement and adolescents' career goal pursuit during the post-school transition

This study investigated adolescents' and parents' co-regulation of career-related goals during the post-school transition. Finnish adolescents (N = 807, 49% female) were assessed twice in high school and once after graduation. It was examined how their career goal motivation (autonomous vs. controlled) and appraisals (goal attainability, effort, progress, and stress) interact with their perceptions of parents' career-related involvement (support and lack of engagement) during the transition. Moreover, the role of perceived parental warmth for the co-regulation of career-related goals was assessed. The results showed that both perceived career-specific parental involvement and warmth were associated, albeit weakly, with goal-related stress three years later. This link was mediated by controlled career goal motivation.