Citation:

Skorikov, V. B., & Vondracek, F. W. (2007).  Positive career orientation as an inhibitor of adolescent problem behavior.  Journal of Adolescence, 30, 131-146.

Abstract:

This study tested the hypothesis that positive career orientation can prevent adolescents from engaging in or escalating problem behavior. A 1-year, longitudinal study was conducted on a sample of 234 junior-high and high-school students, who were 14.8 years old on the average in the beginning of the study. Using structural equation modeling, a developmental, two-wave, two-factor empirical model corresponding to the predicted relationships between career orientation and problem behavior was found to fit the data well. According to the fitted model, positive career orientation had a significant negative longitudinal effect on problem behavior. In contrast, we found no evidence in support of the assumption that career orientation can be affected by problematic behavioral tendencies.

Link to paper on journal's website:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01401971

Additional Remarks: