Factors influencing the occupational aspirations of low-income Southern youth : a longitudinal study

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Edward Jay Turner (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Sarah M. Shoffner

Abstract: The present longitudinal study investigated the changing importance of factors influencing the occupational aspirations of low-income Southern youth over a 10-year span. Utilizing the status attainment modelling efforts of Blau and Duncan (1967) and Sewell et al. (1969), the present study attempted to determine the explanatory power of their model when applied to the occupational aspirations of a sample of youth over time as well as the changing influence of the designated independent variables. Subjects for the study consisted of a sample (N = 544) of low-income Southern youth from rural and urban settings, who had been followed for 10 years. The total group from six Southern states (Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) included 91 black males, 97 black females, 150 white males, and 206 white females. The basic model was examined by race and sex for each period in the study (i.e., in the preadolescent, adolescent, and post-high-school years). The basic path model included three exogenous variables (sex, family background, and race) and five intervening variables (mental ability, significant others' influence, academic motivation, and educational goals). The dependent variable, occupational aspirations, was measured in terms of the NORC (National Opinion Research Center) status continuum rating.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 1983
Subjects
Youth $z Southern States $x Employment
Vocational interests $z Southern States
Vocational guidance $z Southern States

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