Setting Sails for Your Harbor: Navigating Beyond NEET Status Through Self-Efficacy and Career Decidedness

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Economics

Background:

• Transitioning from school to employment, education, or training is crucial for young people to avoid long-term unemployment.
• Youths not in employment, education, or training (NEET) face significant challenges in career development.
• Understanding the factors influencing a transition out of NEET status is vital for societal well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the temporal dynamics of career-related self-efficacy and career decidedness among young people in NEET status.
• To determine if self-efficacy and career decidedness predict the ability of NEETs to exit their status.
• To provide insights into how young people can navigate career pathways out of unemployment, education, or training gaps.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study followed 264 NEETs in Germany (aged 15-25) across four measurement points between 2014 and 2016.
• A cross-lagged panel design was employed to analyze the predictive relationships between career-related self-efficacy and career decidedness.
• Data were collected to assess changes in self-efficacy and decidedness and their impact on exiting NEET status.

Main Results:

• While self-efficacy and career decidedness were correlated cross-sectionally, they did not predict each other over time.
• Increased career decidedness at the end of the study period was associated with a higher likelihood of exiting NEET status.
• Exiting NEET status involved finding employment, returning to education, or entering apprenticeships/training.

Conclusions:

• Career decidedness, rather than self-efficacy, emerged as a key factor in facilitating young people's transition out of NEET status.
• The findings highlight the importance of fostering career decidedness in interventions for at-risk youth.
• This research contributes to understanding career trajectories and supports the development of targeted support programs for young people facing unemployment or educational gaps.