Department of Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Dev Psychol. 2012 Nov;48(6):1727-38. doi: 10.1037/a0027538. Epub 2012 Mar 26.
Adolescents' expectations about the timing of adult role transitions have the potential to shape their actual transitions, setting the stage for their adult lives. Although expectations about timing emerge by early adolescence, little is known about how these expectations develop across adolescence. This longitudinal study examined developmental trajectories of adolescents' anticipated ages of school completion, job entry, marriage, and parenthood over the high school years, focusing on gender differences. Latent growth curve analysis of data from 411 rural youths followed from Grades 9 through 12 (age at Grade 9: M = 14.35, SD = 0.77) indicated a significant increase in adolescents' anticipated ages of entry into work and parenthood as well as gender differences in the trajectory of the expected age of marriage. Gender role attitudes, school performance, romantic relationships, and expected educational and occupational attainment were associated with the anticipated timing of role transitions, with significant variations by gender. Adolescents' expected ages of entry into adult family roles predicted their educational attainment and family role transitions in early adulthood. The findings provide insights into the process through which adolescent boys and girls construct their expectations regarding the transition to adulthood and, in turn, their future life course.
青少年对成年角色转变时间的期望有可能塑造他们的实际转变，为他们的成年生活奠定基础。尽管青少年早期就会出现对时间的期望，但对于这些期望如何在整个青春期发展，我们知之甚少。本纵向研究考察了青少年在高中期间完成学业、开始工作、结婚和为人父母的预期年龄的发展轨迹，重点关注了性别差异。对从 9 年级到 12 年级（9 年级时的年龄：M=14.35，SD=0.77）的 411 名农村青少年进行的潜在增长曲线分析表明，青少年进入工作和为人父母的预期年龄显著增加，以及预期结婚年龄的轨迹存在性别差异。性别角色态度、学业成绩、恋爱关系以及预期的教育和职业成就与角色转变的预期时间有关，性别差异显著。青少年进入成年家庭角色的预期年龄预测了他们在成年早期的教育程度和家庭角色转变。研究结果深入了解了青少年男孩和女孩构建成年过渡期望的过程，以及他们未来的人生轨迹。
