Effects of family business membership and psychological separation on the career development of late adolescents
Abstract
Family businesses are composed of two primary interacting systems, a family system and a business system. Relationships in these systems can be characterized by overinvolvement and an inability to develop a sense of individuality. This situation creates conflict during late adolescence, when identity formation involves the choice of an occupation and departure from the home. Recent theoretical and anecdotal evidence suggests that family business children have a distinct vocational identity development experience, and that this experience is different from nonfamily business children. However, little empirical evidence has been generated regarding this difference. This study examined the differences between family business offspring and a comparison group of nonfamily business offspring in terms of psychological separation and several other career development variables. Information was examined from 248 undergraduate students at a large midwestern university. Sixty-six participants who identified their parents as working for their own family's business met the criteria for inclusion in the study as family business offspring. An analysis of variance suggested family business offspring have somewhat lower vocational identity than nonfamily business offspring. No statistically significant differences were found between the groups on measures of psychological separation, the tendency to foreclose on a career choice, or progress in the commitment to a career choice. Hierarchical regression analyses were employed to determine the impact of psychological separation on the career development for each group. Results suggested that decreased psychological separation resulted in a greater tendency to foreclose on a career choice for the nonfamily business group. Additionally, for family business offspring, increased conflictual independence resulted in a greater increase in the progress towards committing to a career choice than for nonfamily business offspring.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Loughead, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Academic guidance counseling|Management|Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology
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