The Associations  Among Vocational Identity Statuses and Psychological Adjustment in Turkish Emerging Adults

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations among the vocational identity statuses, hopelessness and depression in a sample of 185 Turkish university students and university graduates attending a teacher education programme in Akdeniz University in Turkey. The Vocational Identity Status Assessment (VISA; Porfeli et al., 2011), Hopelessness Scale (HS; Beck, Lester and Trexler, 1974) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Rush, Shaw, and Emergy, 1978)) were used for data collection. The regression analysis treating the dimensions of vocational identity statuses, namely commitment, reconsideration and career exploration as the independent variables and hopelessness and depression as the dependent variables revealed that reconsideration and career exploration were  the significant predictors of hopelessness and depression.

Key Words: Vocational Identity Status; Hopelessness; Depression; Teacher candidates