Examining predictors of communal occupational aspirations in middle childhood

Abstract

The development of occupational aspirations begins in early childhood, and gender differences in occupational aspirations has been observed in children as young as age 4. The present study aims to investigate the development of communal occupational aspirations in middle childhood over time, based on the developmental theory of occupational aspirations by Gottfredson (1981). The study uses data from elementary school children between the ages of 6 to 13 years (n = 46; 20 boys, 26 girls; Mage = 9.56, SD = 1.78.) collected at two time points, one in June 2020 (T1) and one in November 2020 (T2). We found no significant gender difference in communal occupational aspirations, which is not in line with previous research and theorizing by Gottfredson (1981). However, in line with previous research, we found that girls with stronger gender stereotypes about communal occupations showed stronger aspirations towards communal occupations, whilst there was no effect of gender stereotypes on boys’ aspirations towards communal occupations. We also found that children who believe you make a lot of money in communal occupations aspired more toward communal occupations. Implications for future research and development of interventions are discussed.