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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Personality Antecedents of Career Orientation and Stability among Women Compared to Men

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Abstract The study was part of the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development in which 151 women and 160 men were followed from age 8 through age 36. Data were collected at ages 8, 14, 27, and 36 using teacher ratings, interviews, and personality inventories. The participants' career paths are defined in terms of “career orientation,” which is a composite score made up of four indicators: occupational status, education, present work situation, and career stability. In accordance with our hypotheses, the results for both sexes showed that high career orientation was explained by personality characteristics indicating high self-control of emotions (constructiveness, stability, and compliance), whereas low career orientation was explained by characteristics indicating low self-control of emotions (anxiety, lability, and aggressiveness). Social activity was related to female but not to male career orientation and, correspondingly, passivity was a risk factor for female but not for male career orientation. Gender differences were accentuated in the matter of career stability: both stable and unstable careers were more strongly related to personality characteristics in women than in men. School success and parental SES were more strongly associated with career orientation than with career stability.