Relation between vocational identity statuses and interests among Italian adolescents.

The ability to plan a vocational choice is associated with identity development, self-efficacy in the recognition of interests, the ability to search for useful information before beginning an educational course. This study investigated: a) if the structure of vocational interests would differentiate students in identity development; b) the correlation between interests, identity and school adaptation. The study was conducted on 417 italian students of high school (52.8% females; aged between 16-19 years), who completed three measures: Identifying Information Form, EIPQ, SDS. Younger resulted in having more coherence in interests than the older ones; higher differentiation in interests distinguished students with Achievement from those being Diffusion. School performance was positively associated with coherence of interest and investigative preference, while it was negatively correlated with realistc and enterprising interests; the identity commitment and the coherence of interests were predictive of high performance. Encouraging exploration of identity and promoting congruence of interest would seem appropriate educational intervention.