Career Identity and Mental Health in Emerging Adulthood: The Roles of Parenting and Socioeconomic Status

Abstract

Developing one's identity is a major psychological process that primarily occurs during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Many findings point to the importance of one's identity development for their mental well-being, and additional literature supports a link between career identity development and mental health in emerging adults. Parenting and socioeconomic status (SES) have been linked to these two psychological factors, but questions remain about the directionality of the relationships and the unique role of SES. In Study 1, we employ a longitudinal design to examine how parental autonomy support predicts career identity development and mental health, and vice versa. Additionally, we assess the role of SES as a potential moderator of these effects. In Study 2, we aim to replicate and extend these findings through the added use of a narrative approach. Results indicate that autonomy support predicts healthy career identity development and mental well-being, and this finding is especially true for low SES students. Additionally, the use of a contextualized narrative approach offers further insight into identity development and the role of parenting. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.