Learning to Cope with Anxiety: Long-term Links from Adolescence to Adult Career Satisfaction

Abstract

This study examined the long-term effect of anxiety on career satisfaction for young adults in the United States. The abilities to positively cope with stress and function competently as an adult were examined as potential moderators of this link, and adolescent developmental precursors of these abilities were also investigated. Analyses revealed a negative association between anxiety at age 21 and career satisfaction at age 27. However, this association was ameliorated for youth with better coping skills and functional competence at age 24. Autonomy and relatedness behaviors with best friends and mothers were examined as potential predictors of these moderators, with positive autonomy and relatedness from friends at age 13 emerging as the sole predictor of these skills. Results suggest that although anxiety may inhibit career satisfaction for many youth, positive coping and adult functional competence skills may allow anxious individuals to achieve career satisfaction. Moreover, these skills may be promoted through peer relationships in early adolescence.

In nearly all educational, training, and work environments, young adults are tasked with handling varying amounts of responsibility and interacting effectively with other people. Thus, some of the most important skills that individuals must have in order to be successful in pursuit of their careers are the ability to communicate effectively with others and to handle the stresses of their current position (Bryen, Potts, & Carey, 2007; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2007). High levels of anxiety can interfere with both of these abilities, rendering individuals less effective in and as less satisfied with their current professional role (Moitra, Beard, Weisberg & Keller, 2011). And yet, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety is extremely prevalent among U.S. adults, affecting 18.1% - 30% of adults in the United States (Anxiety Disorder General Statistics, 2015). This suggests, however, that many individuals likely learn ways to successfully cope with anxiety in order to effectively pursue their career goals. Little research, however, has been done to examine what characteristics or abilities might promote positive career outcomes for young adults with anxiety. Thus, this study aims to examine two possible sets of skills, positive emotional coping and adult functional competence, that might explain why some individuals are able to cope with anxiety successfully in the context of their careers whereas others are not. Moreover, it seeks to investigate potential developmental precursors to such skills during early adolescence to better understand how these skills might be promoted before adulthood, thus possibly preventing anxiety from interfering with individuals’ long-term career goals.

Significance of Career Satisfaction

A career is an occupation or profession that involves a continuous process of learning and development. It includes goals and opportunities for advancement, and is pursued with a sense of purpose and meaning. A career is typically viewed as a sequence of educational and training experiences, as well as of related jobs, in a particular profession that constitutes an individual’s life work. Any one particular job that an individual chooses to work, then, may or may not be related to one’s overall career development. It is possible to work a job that is aligned with one’s larger career goals and brings great satisfaction, but also possible to work a job that is unrelated to one’s career ambitions or brings little satisfaction. Although job satisfaction speaks to an individual’s fulfillment at one point in time with regard to a specific job, career satisfaction considers all of the steps (i.e. education, training, previous jobs, current job) that comprise the complete career arc, and is not tied exclusively to whether or not an individual is currently employed or satisfied with their current job. Nevertheless, although the focus of the present study is on examining predictors of career satisfaction, literature examining both career and job satisfaction is reviewed since job satisfaction is typically strongly correlated with career satisfaction (Beutell & Wittig-Berman, 1999).

Career satisfaction is a critical outcome related to adult functioning because it is not only linked to feelings about work, but also has important broader implications for physical and mental health. For example, individuals who are satisfied with their careers, whether as a homemaker or as an employee, have significantly better self-reported health, fewer chronic health conditions, fewer day-to-day health problems, and better every day moods as compared to those who are not satisfied (Verburgge, 1982). More recent work has re-affirmed these initial findings. A large scale meta-analysis examining the health of over 250,000 employees found that low levels of job satisfaction were strongly correlated with lower levels of subjective physical health (Faragher, Cass, & Cooper, 2005). Moreover, even stronger associations were found between lower job satisfaction and worse mental health, with employees who reported lower job satisfaction more likely to have developed emotional burn-out, lower levels of self-esteem, and higher levels of anxiety and depression (Faragher, Cass, & Cooper, 2005). These health implications extend not only to employees, but also to their employers, who face costs from employees who are more likely to ask for time off and take sick days in order to address poor health. Indeed, a risk-based assessment of 46,000 private and public sector employees found that those who reported having depression were 70% more expensive than those who were not depressed, and employees that were highly stressed and unable to cope with that stress were 46% more costly than employees who were not stressed (Goetzel, Ozminkowski, Sederer, & Mark, 2002).

Career Satisfaction & Anxiety

Importantly, anxiety has been shown to play a key role in predicting employees’ career satisfaction and success. Moitra et al. (2011) examined the effect of social anxiety on workplace performance, employment rates, and occupational impairment. After screening participants for anxiety symptoms and other comorbid clinical disorders, they found that individuals with social anxiety were more impaired in their workplace functioning as compared to other individuals in the general population, as well as being more than twice as likely to be unemployed (Moitra et al., 2011). Anxiety has also been linked to the process of making significant career decisions. For example, students who are more anxiety prone are significantly more indecisive about their careers compared to those who are not anxiety prone, and high levels of anxiety have been linked to low levels of satisfaction with one’s career decision (Fuqua, Seaworth, & Newman, 1987; Kimes & Troth, 1974). More recent studies have corroborated these earlier results, finding that adolescent general trait anxiety is positively associated with career indecision (Vignoli, 2015; Corkin, Arbona, Coleman, & Ramirez, 2008; Campagna, & Curtis, 2007).

Recent work has also more clearly implicated anxiety as a prospective risk factor for low career satisfaction. In a meta-analysis using 163 independent samples, Judge, Heller, & Mount (2002) examined the link between personality traits and job satisfaction. They found that only neuroticism, which is defined in part by qualities including anxiety, worry, and self-consciousness, was negatively correlated with job satisfaction. Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, & Barrick (1999) found similar results in that childhood neuroticism was negatively correlated with intrinsic career success, defined as individuals’ being satisfied with their careers; this negative link between neuroticism and career satisfaction has also been documented in other studies (e.g., Seibert & Kraimer, 2001), and suggests that individuals who are more prone to anxiety may consequently tend to experience lower career satisfaction.

Positive Coping Skills and Adult Functional Competence

Despite strong evidence that anxiety may inhibit career satisfaction, research has yet to consider possible moderators of this link that might be developed alongside or independently from such anxiety and enable individuals to progress effectively in their careers. Indeed, given the aforementioned high prevalence of anxiety among the U.S. population, there are likely skills or personal qualities that enable many people with anxiety to work and achieve career satisfaction. Previous research suggests that the presence of two such factors, positive coping skills and adult functional competence, may play a significant role in reducing anxiety for young adults. For example, positive coping methods have been shown to serve as a protective buffer against anxiety in adolescents, and an increase in adolescents’ coping skills has been associated with a reduction in – though not the complete elimination of – anxiety over the course of several years (Kendall, Safford, Flannery-Schroeder, & Webb, 2004; Spence, 2001). Increases in direct problem-solving strategies, positive cognitive restructuring, and distraction strategies have also been shown to precede a decrease in parent-reported adolescent anxiety symptoms over time (Hogendoorn et al., 2014). Moreover, actively exposing anxious individuals to the source of their anxiety can help reduce its negative effects (Parsons and Rizzo, 2008; Powers and Emmelkamp, 2008).

Importantly, meta-analyses examining the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety, which typically seeks to increase positive coping skills, have consistently demonstrated medium to large effect sizes for CBT relative to placebo treatments for reducing anxiety in randomized trials (Hofmann & Smits, 2008). Such evidence strongly suggests that positive coping skills can be developed and deployed in the context of current anxiety. Moreover, the development of such skills may occur naturally through peer or adult interactions. Adolescents who are less satisfied with their peer social support tend to be at higher risk of developing symptoms of anxiety, whereas close peer support and teacher support is associated with reduced anxiety for adolescents (Compas, Slavin, Wagner, & Vannatta, 1986; Rueger, Malecki, & Demaray, 2010). This suggests that having strong, supportive, friendships and social relationships during adolescence can serve as a protective factor from developing anxiety, perhaps serving as a context for learning adaptive coping skills.

There are also some associations between positive coping and career satisfaction. Côté and Morgan (2002) found that the suppression of unpleasant emotions in the workplace was negatively correlated with future employee job satisfaction, whereas the expression of pleasant emotions was positively correlated with future job satisfaction. They also found that the suppression of unpleasant emotions was positively correlated with future intentions to quit. Thus, the type of emotional expression and regulation used at work may significantly impact overall job satisfaction and intentions to remain at work. Whereas individuals who suppress negative emotions may experience low satisfaction within the workplace, emotionally resilient individuals who are able to adjust to pressures within the work environment may be able to find more satisfaction in their careers (Lounsbury et al., 2003). Thus, by managing anxiety through skills such as positive coping, exposure to fears, and expression of positive emotions, individuals may be able to lessen the potential negative effects of anxiety on their career progression and satisfaction. Indeed, when O’Hare and Tamburri (1986) examined the relationship between state-trait anxiety, coping mechanisms, and career decision making, they found that participants who scored as highly trait-anxious and who did not use self-efficacy coping behaviors were more likely to be indecisive in their careers than those who did. By being actively involved in solving their problems and taking a head-on approach to stressors, participants were better able to cope with their anxiety. Such work provides more direct support for the possibility that coping may serve as moderator between anxiety and career satisfaction.

In addition to coping skills, this study also examines adult functional competence as a moderator between anxiety and career satisfaction. Functional competence is defined as one’s real-world functioning based on their ability to be responsible, complete necessary tasks, and demonstrate skills needed to move up in the world independently (Le Deist & Winterton, 2005). To date, there has been little direct research examining associations between adult functional competence and anxiety or career satisfaction. In one exception, there was a positive correlation between adult functional independence and job competence among young adults. Moreover, adult functional independence among these young adults was positively correlated with highest level of education attained and current employment status, suggesting that adult functional competence may indeed be relevant as a predictor of career satisfaction (Szwedo, Hessel, Loeb, Hafen, & Allen, 2017). There is also indirect evidence that such competence might be associated with both anxiety and career outcomes provided by research examining related constructs. For example, emotional autonomy, defined as the perception of independence through self-confidence, and functional autonomy, defined as the perception to exercise control over one’s life, have been positively correlated with academic competence and negatively correlated with depression among a large sample of adolescents (Noom, Deković, & Meeus, 1999). Research also indicates that youth from authoritative homes tend to be less anxious than those from unauthoritative homes, and that when the components of authoritative parenting (warmth, firmness, and psychological autonomy granting) are examined independently, psychological autonomy granting by parents has been identified as most protective factor against the development of anxiety (Gray & Steinberg, 1999; Steinberg, 2001). Such work not only highlights the potential significance of autonomy and functional independence skills for mitigating anxiety, but also suggests that such skills may be promoted through relationships that occur earlier in life.

With regard to career satisfaction more specifically, conscientiousness, defined in similar terms to adult functional competence by high reliability, trustworthiness, and readiness to internalize group norms and values, has been found to be significantly correlated with job satisfaction (Judge, Heller, & Mount, 2002; Lounsbury et al., 2003). Also akin to functional competence, psychological separation aims to capture the level of individuation of an adolescent from their parents. For women, conflictual independence from parents, which is based on “freedom from guilt, anxiety, mistrust, responsibility toward, or resentment of one’s parents”, had a positive relationship with committing to decisions within the career (Blustein, Walbridge, Friedlander, & Palladino, 1991). For men, they found that conflictual independence from fathers had a positive association with committing to career decisions. It is possible that when adolescents feel psychologically independent from their parents and competent to navigate the challenges of the world on their own, they are better able to choose, perform in, and enjoy their careers. Even if individuals are typically prone to anxiety, those who have developed greater functional competence may feel they are better equipped to handle stressful professional situations as compared to individuals without such characteristics.

Developmental Antecedents: Autonomy and Relatedness with Peers and Parents

To the extent that positive coping skills and functional competence may be key moderators of links between anxiety and career satisfaction, it is useful to consider the social-emotional conditions under which each may develop. One potential developmental antecedent of these constructs is the promotion of autonomy and relatedness behaviors from individuals’ friends and parents during early adolescence. For example, Soenens & Vansteenkiste (2005) found that teens with mothers who were perceived as autonomy-supportive had increased self-determination in friendships and increased social competence. Moreover, Guay, Senécal, Gauthier, & Fernet (2003) found that both peer and parental autonomy support helped improve college-aged participants’ ability to make career-related decisions. More specifically, they found that peer support of autonomous behaviors contributed to self-efficacy and autonomous behaviors in career decision making over and above parental support of autonomy, and importantly, over and above levels of neuroticism. Thus, these findings support the idea that with high parental and peer autonomy support, individuals with high levels of neuroticism (of which anxiety is a component) may indeed become more functionally competent and autonomous. Peer autonomy and relatedness has also been shown to play a key role in influencing adolescents to make use of positive coping behaviors to deal with stress. Cicognani (2011) found that teens’ use of active coping strategies had a significant association with perceived peer support, indicating that when peers are available as a source of support, adolescents are likely to use positive coping as a way handle the stressors in their lives.

Hypotheses of Present Study

The present study utilized longitudinal, multimethod data from adolescence through early adulthood to determine if positive coping skills and functional competence would buffer against an association between anxiety and lower career satisfaction. Based on the research reviewed above, it was first hypothesized that individuals who were more anxious in their early twenties would also report lower career satisfaction in their late-twenties. Second, it was hypothesized that this negative association between anxiety and career satisfaction would be weaker for individuals with greater positive coping skills and greater functional competence. Finally, positive parental and peer behaviors promoting autonomy and relatedness during early adolescence were hypothesized as early developmental predictors of positive coping and functional competence, over and above teens’ own positive autonomy and relatedness behaviors toward these individuals.

Method

Participants and Procedure

This report is drawn from a larger longitudinal investigation of adolescent social development in both familial and peer contexts. Participants included 184 adolescents (86 males and 98 females), their mothers, and their closest friends assessed across a 14-year period. The sample was racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse; of the participants, 58% identified themselves as Caucasian, 29% as African-American, and 13% as being from other or mixed ethnic groups. Adolescents’ mothers reported a median family income in the $40,000 to $59,999 range during the first year of the study, which was comparable to the national median family income of $53,350 in 1997, the year of initial data collection (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2010). Eighteen percent of the sample reported annual family income less than $20,000, and 33% reported annual family income greater than $60,000. The sample appeared comparable to the overall population of the school from which it was recruited in terms of racial/ethnic composition (42% non-White in sample vs. ~ 40% non-White in school) and comparable to the socioeconomic status of the larger community (mean household income=$43,618 in sample vs. $48,000 in the community at large).

Participants were initially assessed at age 13 (M =13.35; SD=0.64) in an observed interaction task with their mothers (n = 168). At ages 13 and 24 (M = 23.78; SD=0.97), participants also nominated their closest, same-gendered friend to be included in the study. Participants were allowed to nominate a different peer at each assessment point in order to give the clearest possible picture of the adolescent’s recent close peer interactions and eliminate the problem of repeatedly assessing a peer who may no longer be close to the adolescent, possibly due to circumstances that have nothing to do with the friendship (e.g., geographic moves). Close friends were defined as, “people you know well, spend time with and who you talk to about things that happen in your life.” For adolescents who had trouble naming their closest friend, it was explained that naming their “closest” friend did not mean that they were necessarily very close to this friend, just that they were close to this friend compared to other acquaintances they might have. In all cases, adolescents were able to name at least one closest friend using these criteria. At age 13 participants and their closest friend (n = 180) were assessed in an observed interaction task. At age 24, their close friend provided questionnaire data about the participant. 3% of participants’ closest friends included in the study remained the same from age 13 to age 24. At age 13, close peers reported knowing the target teen for approximately 4 years (M = 4.01, SD = 2.88). At age 24, teens reported knowing their close peer for approximately 9 1/2 years (M = 9.49, SD = 6.12). At ages 13, 21, 24, and 27, adolescents came in for assessment and interviews. At age 27, 74% of the sample reported being currently employed, whereas 24% reported being a student. Of those currently employed, 88% reported being at their current job for 6 months or longer and 85% reported being employed full-time (defined as 35 hours per week or more). The median reported income of participants (their income alone) at age 27 was in the $20,000-$29,999 range.

Participants were recruited via an initial mailing to all parents of students in the 7th and 8th grades of middle school along with follow-up contact efforts at school lunches. Adolescents who indicated they were interested in the study were contacted by telephone. Of all students eligible for participation, 63% agreed to participate either as target participants or as peers providing collateral information. Adolescents provided informed assent, and their parents provided informed consent before each assessment (until participants were old enough to provide informed consent). The same assent/consent procedures were used for mothers and best friends. Interviews took place in private offices within a university academic building. Adolescents, mothers, and peers were all paid for their participation. Participants’ data were protected by a Confidentiality Certificate issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which further protects information from subpoena by federal, state, and local courts. If necessary, transportation and childcare were provided to participants.

Attrition Analyses

Attrition analyses examined response bias based on missing data at the various follow-up time points of the study. Analyses with Fisher’s exact test revealed that individuals with complete data in the study were more likely to be female as compared to male, respectively at age 21 (93% vs. 80%, p < .01) and at age 27 (91% vs. 69%, p < .001). Close peers of females, as compared to males, were also more likely to have complete data at participant age 24 (79% vs. 64%, p = .01). With regard to data completeness, at age 13, 177 participants had observational data with parents and 165 had observational data with peers; at age 21, 160 participants completed the anxiety measure; at age 24, 132 close peers of participants completed the positive coping and functional independence measures; at age 27, 143 participants completed the career satisfaction measure. There were no other significant differences on any other measures for individuals with vs. without data at any follow up time points. Nevertheless, to best address any potential biases due to attrition and missing data in longitudinal analyses, full information maximum likelihood methods were used, with analyses including all variables that were linked to future missing data (i.e., where data were not missing completely at random). Because these procedures have been found to yield less biased estimates than approaches (e.g., simple regression) that use list wise deletion of cases with missing data, the entire original sample of 184 for the larger study was utilized for these analyses. This analytic technique does not impute or create any new data nor does it artificially inflate significance levels. Rather, it simply takes into account distributional characteristics of data in the full sample to provide the least biased estimates of parameters obtained when some data are missing (Arbuckle, 1996). Longitudinal analyses using just those adolescents without missing data (i.e., list wise deletion) yielded results that were substantially identical to those reported below.

Measures

Career Satisfaction

At age 27, participants completed a 5-item self-report scale measuring satisfaction with career success. In addition to general satisfaction with career progress, the measure assesses the extent to which an employee has made satisfactory progress toward goals for income level, advancement and development of skills (Greenhaus, Parasuraman & Wormley, 1990). In previous research, this measure of career satisfaction correlated positively with salary level, number of promotions received, perceptions of upward mobility, supervisory support, career strategies, perceived personal-organizational value, and job performance (Aryee, Chay, & Tan, 1994); Greenhaus et al.,1990; Seibert, Crant, & Kraimer, 1999). Sample items include: “I am satisfied with the success I have achieved in my career” and, “I am satisfied with the progress I have made toward meeting my overall career goals”. In the present study, the measure showed excellent internal consistency (α = .93).

Anxiety

At age 21, participants completed a 20-item self-report measure of trait anxiety from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Items were scored on a 4-point Likert scale with higher scores indicating greater trait-level anxiety. This measure has demonstrated good test-retest reliability in previous studies (Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970) as well as positive correlations with other measures of anxiety (Cattell & Scheier, 1963; Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970). Sample items include: “I worry too much about something that doesn’t really matter” and, “I get in a state of tension or turmoil as I think over my recent concerns and interests”. The measure demonstrated excellent internal consistency in the present study (α = .91).

Positive Coping

At age 24, participants’ close peer completed a brief 28-item, shortened version of Carver’s 60-item COPE inventory (1989) about the participant. This BRIEF COPE measures different adaptive and dysfunctional responses to stress including problem-focused coping responses and responses directed to aspects of the situation other than the stressor. Close peers answered the statements about the adolescent with regard to how often they used positive coping skills including positive reframing, acceptance, active coping, planning, using emotional supports, and using instrumental supports. The full-length version of COPE has been used in a number of health related studies and evidence suggests that it assesses coping processes that are predictive of prospective physiological effects (Carver, 1997; Antoni et al., 1991; Carver et al., 1993; Antoni, Esterling, Lutgendorf, Fletcher, & Schneiderman, 1995). Sample items include asking the close friend how often the participant: “he/she accepts that this has happened and it can’t be changed” and, “he/she tries to see it in a different light, to make it seem more positive.” The measure of positive coping used in this study had excellent internal consistency (α = 88).

Adult Functional Competence

At age 24, participants’ close peer completed the Young Adult Adjustment Scale about the participant (Capaldi, King, and Wilson, 1992). This questionnaire measured various domains of the participant’s functioning. Within the Young Adult Adjustment Scale, the subscale of adult functional competence was used in the present study. This 3-item subscale measured the adolescent’s functioning based on the adolescent’s close peer’s views of the teen’s ability to be a responsible adult, able to take care of themselves, and ability to maintain financial independence. Sample items include asking the close friend if the participant: “Is a responsible adult” and “Is able to take care of himself/herself”. Higher scores indicated higher levels of functional competence. The measure demonstrated excellent internal consistency in the present study (α = .87).

Autonomy and Relatedness Behaviors

Mothers

When participants were 13, adolescents and their mothers participated in a revealed-differences task in which they discussed a family issue they disagreed about. Typical topics of discussion included money (19%), grades (19%), household rules (17%), friends (14%), and brothers and sisters (10%); other possible areas included communication, plans for the future, alcohol and drugs, religion, and dating. These interactions were videotaped and then transcribed.

Interactions were coded using the Autonomy and Relatedness Coding System (Allen et al., 2003). This coding system evaluates adolescent and partner speech for both the frequency and strength of specific types of statements exhibiting or inhibiting autonomy and relatedness. Thus, the system does not simply add up remarks falling into a specific category but rather considers the intensity of comments when assigning scale scores. All interactions were coded from videotapes and transcripts, permitting use of tone, rhythm, intensity of speech, facial expressions, and body posture in the coding system in addition to the content of speech. Each code uses a 0–4 scale with half-point intervals and concrete behavioral anchors of the meaning of each full point for a code. Scores for each of the coded behaviors within a category (i.e., autonomy) were summed to provide an overall score for that category. Two trained coders rated each interaction, and their codes were then averaged. Coders were blind to other data from the study. Past research using this coding system has found it to be a reliable predictor of both family and adolescent functioning (Allen, Hauser, Bell, & O’Connor, 1994; Allen, Hauser, Eickholt, Bell, & O’Connor, 1994).

Adolescents’ behavior was coded on 10 subscales. Two of these subscales (stating reasons and exhibiting confidence) were combined to yield the Displaying Autonomy scale. The Displaying Autonomy scale captures two aspects of the ways in which each member of a dyad handles the disagreement being discussed. First, it captures the extent to which each individual presents the reasoning underlying his or her position. The scale focuses on the individual’s use and presentation of a reasoned argument, rather than on the quality of reasoning being displayed. Second, this scale captures the degree of confidence displayed by each member during the discussion. Confidence indicates an individual’s resolve in adopting and maintaining a specific position or reason, as well as the degree to which the individual believes that the position or reason is correct or effective. Behaviors promoting relatedness were scored on three sub-scales: making queries and statements that reflect a true interest in understanding the other person’s position (e.g., “What do you think we should do about this problem?” said with genuine interest); validating/agreeing/positively reacting to the other person, even if the speaker does not fully agree (e.g., That is a very interesting argument, and I can see how it fits, but I think that..”); demonstrating engagement in the interaction, which includes communicating points and being sensitive to what the other is communicating, responding to the other, giving them time to talk, having an empathic tone, making eye contact, asking how the other feels, and actively responding to their point of view.

Interrater reliability was calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients and was r = .90 at age 13 for youth autonomy and relatedness behaviors toward mothers, and r = .78 for mothers’ autonomy and relatedness behaviors toward teens.

Peers

Adolescents and their closest friends participated in an 8-minute videotaped interaction at age 13 in which they were presented with a revealed differences task This task involved a hypothetical predicament requiring them each to decide which 7 out of possible 12 fictional characters who are stuck on the planet Mars should be eligible for a place in the one spaceship that is returning to Earth (Pfieffer & Jones, 1974). After making their decisions separately, adolescents and their closest friends were then brought together to compare their answers, and were asked to come up with a consensus list of seven characters to take back to Earth. These interactions were videotaped and then transcribed.

The Autonomy and Relatedness Coding System for Peer Interactions was used to code these interactions for both adolescent and peer autonomy behaviors (Allen, Porter, & McFarland, 2001). This coding system is an adaptation of the Autonomy and Relatedness Coding System (described above; Allen et al., 2003). Consistent with that system, it also captures behaviors displaying autonomy by assessing individual’s ability to state reasons and exhibit confidence when defending their position and relatedness by individuals’ asking questions, validating the other person, and actively engaging in discussion.

Each interaction was coded as an average of the scores obtained by two trained raters blind to other data from the study. Intraclass correlations for adolescents’ displays of autonomy and relatedness with a close peer were r = .81 at age 13. The intraclass correlation for close peers’ displays of autonomy and relatedness with adolescents was r = .82 at age 13. Past research has found this coding system to be a reliable predictor of both family and adolescent functioning (Allen, Hauser, Bell, & O’Connor, 1994).

Results

Means, standard deviations, and correlations of primary constructs are shown in Table 1. These correlations showed a significant negative association between anxiety at age 21 and career satisfaction at age 27 (r = −.22, p < .01). Analyses also revealed significant positive associations between functional competence at age 24 and career satisfaction at age 27 (r = .23, p < .05), and between positive coping at age 24 and career satisfaction at age 27 (r = .54, p < .001).

Table 1.

Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlations among Primary Variables.

Variable (Age) (Reporter)	Min Max	Mean (SD)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1. Income		43,618 (22,420)	−
2. Gender		47% male	−.11	-
3. Career Satisfaction (27) (SR)	5.00 25.00	17.77 (5.67)	.01	.14	-
4. Anxiety (21) (SR)	20.00 64.00	36.81 (9.79)	.12	.00	−.22**	-
5. Positive Coping (24) (CP)	2.00 6.00	4.17 (1.09)	.00	.14	.14	.01	-
6. Functional Competence (24) (CP)	1.67 5.00	4.15 (0.86)	.04	−.03	.23*	−.06	.54***	-
7. Y outh Pos A/R to Mom (13) (O)	0.00 3.06	1.84 (0.53)	.36***	−.03	−.01	.12	−.04	.02
8. Mom Pos A/R to Youth (13) (O)	1.53 3.37	2.49 (0.41)	.37***	−.10	.03	−.01	.08	.10	.41***	-
9. Friend Pos A/R to Youth (13) (O)	0.69 3.75	2.38 (0.68)	.29***	−.06	−.01	.07	.24**	31***	.25**	.28***	-
10. Youth Pos A/R to Friend (13) (O)	0.75 3.69	2.35 (0.65)	.29***	−.06	−.01	.06	.13	.22*	.32***	.20*	.72***

Note. SR = self-report, CP= close-peer report, O = observed; A/R = autonomy and relatedness.

^*p <.05,

^**p ≤.01,

^***p <.001

Additional correlations revealed positive associations between close peers’ positive autonomy and relatedness to the participant at age 13 and participants’ positive coping (r = .24, p < .01) and functional competence at age 24 (r = .31, p < .001). Correlations also indicated a positive association between the participant’s positive autonomy and relatedness to their close peer at age 13 and functional competence at age 24 (r = .22, p < .05).

Primary Analyses

Hypothesis 1: Higher Levels of Anxiety Will Predict Lower Career Satisfaction.

It was predicted that individuals who were more anxious would report lower future career satisfaction. Regression analyses indicated a significant negative association between anxiety at age 21 and career satisfaction at age 27 (β = −.23, p < .01) after controlling participant and gender and income. Anxiety accounted for 8% of the variance in predicting career satisfaction (p = .08).

Hypothesis 2: Functional Competence and Positive Coping will Moderate the Association between Anxiety and Career Satisfaction.

To determine if functional competence and positive coping would significantly moderate the negative association between anxiety and future career satisfaction, separate hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. In the first regression analysis, positive coping was not a significant predictor of career satisfaction after controlling for gender, income, and anxiety (see Table 2). However, there was a significant interaction between positive coping and anxiety showing that higher levels of positive coping skills predicted greater career satisfaction for individuals with high levels of anxiety as compared to low levels of positive coping (β = .31, p < .01; see Figure 2). A test of simple effects indicated that for individuals with lower positive coping skills, higher levels of anxiety were associated with lower career satisfaction (β = −.44, p < .001). There was no significant association between anxiety and career satisfaction for individuals with higher positive coping skills (β = .13, ns). The interaction between anxiety and positive coping accounted for 8% of the variance in predicting career satisfaction (p < .01).

Table 2.

Positive Coping Skills at age 24 Moderating the Effect of Anxiety at age 21 on Career Satisfaction at age 27.

	Career Satisfaction (27)
	β entry	β final	Δ R2	R2
Step 1.				.02
Gender	.14	.16*
Income	.03	.09
Step 2.			.06**	.08
Anxiety	− 23**	−.15
Step 3.			.01	.09
Positive Coping Skills	.12	.17*
Step 4.			.08**	.17
Anxiety X Positive	.31**	.31**
Coping Skills

Note

^*p <.05,

^**p ≤.01.

Figure 2.

Interaction between anxiety and functional competence predicting career satisfaction.

In the second regression analysis, functional competence was a significant positive predictor of future career satisfaction after controlling for gender, income, and anxiety, predicting 5% of the variance in career satisfaction (p < .05; see Table 3). However, this main effect was subsumed by an interaction between functional competence and anxiety. This interaction showed that high levels of functional competence predicted greater career satisfaction for individuals with high levels of anxiety as compared to low levels of functional competence (β = .18, p < .05; see Figure 1). A test of simple effects indicated that for individuals with lower functional competence, higher levels of anxiety were associated with lower career satisfaction (β = −.39, p < .001). There was no significant association between anxiety and career satisfaction for individuals with higher functional competence (β = −.03, ns). The interaction between anxiety and functional competence accounted for 3% of the variance in predicting career satisfaction (p < .05).

Table 3.

Functional Competence at age 24 Moderating the Effect of Anxiety at age 21 on Career Satisfaction at age 27.

	Career Satisfaction (27)
	β entry	β final	ΔR2	R2
Step 1.				.02
Gender	.14	.17*
Income	.03	.05
Step 2.			.06**	.08
Anxiety	−.24**	−.21**
Step 3.			.05*	.13
Functional	23**	.22**
Competence
Step 4.			.03*	.16
Anxiety X Functional	.18*	.18*
Competence

Note.

^*p <.05,

^**p ≤.01.

Figure 1.

Interaction between anxiety and positive coping skills predicting career satisfaction.

A final regression model examined the relative contributions of positive coping and functional competence for predicting career satisfaction and moderating the association between anxiety and career satisfaction. Results of the final model indicated that higher functional competence significantly predicted higher career satisfaction after controlling for gender, income, and anxiety (β = .20, p < .05). There was no significant interaction between anxiety and functional competence. However, there was a significant interaction between anxiety and positive coping that when graphed, mirrored the interaction presented in Figure 2 (β = .28, p < .05).

Hypothesis 3: Adolescent Positive Autonomy and Relatedness from Peers and Parents Will Predict Later Functional Competence and Positive Coping.

Regression analyses were conducted to examine the combined effects of mother and peer influences on the development of positive coping skills and functional competence. The results revealed that positive autonomy and relatedness behaviors from the close peer to the teen at age 13 significantly predicted positive coping skills at age 24 (β = .31, p < .05) and predicted 7% of the variance in positive coping (p < .05). Teen’s positive autonomy and relatedness behaviors did not significantly predict positive coping skills. Neither positive autonomy and relatedness behaviors from the mother to the teen nor the teen to the mother significantly predicted positive coping skills. See Table 4.

Table 4.

Positive Autonomy and Relatedness Behaviors with Friends and Mothers at age 13 Predicting Functional Competence and Positive Coping Skills at age 24.

	Positive Coping Skills (24)				Functional Competence (24)
	β entry	β final	ΔR2	R2	β entry	β final	ΔR2	R2
Step 1.				.02				.00
Gender	.15	.18*			−.03	.00
Income	.01	−.07			.05	−.03
Step 2.			.00	.02			.01	.01
Anxiety	.01	.01			−.07	−.08
Step 3.			.03	.05			.01	.02
Pos. A/R from	.16	.11			.10	.04
Mother to Teen
Pos. A/R from Teen to Mother	−.11	−.13			−.02	−.06
Step. 4
Pos. A/R from Close Peer to Teen	.31*	.31*	.07*	.12	.32**	.32**	.10**	.12
Pos. A/R from Teen to Close Peer	−.03	−.03			.03	.03

Note. A/R = autonomy and relatedness;

^*p <.05,

^**p ≤.01.

Similar results were observed between positive autonomy and relatedness behaviors and functional competence. Positive autonomy and relatedness behaviors from the close peer to the teen at age 13 significantly predicted functional competence at age 24 (β = .32, p < .01) and predicted 10% of the variance in functional competence (p < .01). Teens’ positive autonomy and relatedness behaviors toward close peers did not significantly predict functional competence, nor did the positive autonomy and relatedness behaviors from the mother to the teen or the teen to the mother. See Table 4.

Discussion

The hypotheses of this study were largely supported. As predicted, anxiety at age 21 was negatively associated with career satisfaction at age 27 after controlling for participant income and gender. This result shows the long-term effect anxiety may have on professional development and is consistent with previous research that has shown the negative effect high anxiety can have on how satisfied one is with their career. High levels of anxiety, for example, may have an impact on the ability to concentrate on one’s job and cause work performance to suffer (Haslam, Atkinson, Brown, & Haslam, 2005). It is also possible that it is more distressing for highly anxious people to interact with coworkers, bosses, and clients, making them unable to enjoy their work as much as they would if they were not anxious, which could lead to having lower career satisfaction (Moitra et al., 2011). Other studies have shown anxiety to be positively associated with career indecision, and also as a mediator between career indecision and career exploration (Campagna, & Curtis, 2007; Vignoli, 2015). This suggests that anxious individuals may be less certain about what careers might be the best fit for them in part because they may be less likely to explore possible options. As a result, they may end up choosing a career (or perhaps failing to conceptualize a career for themselves at all) that is a poor fit for their interests, abilities, or values, which may contribute to lower long-term career satisfaction.

The second hypothesis was also supported. Both positive coping skills and functional competence acted as buffers against the otherwise harmful effect of anxiety on career satisfaction. Highly anxious individuals who tended to use positive coping techniques reported greater career satisfaction compared to highly anxious individuals who did not tend to use these skills. It may be that youth who are anxious are more likely to focus on the possibility of failure or lack of fulfillment in their careers, which contribute to less satisfying career exploration and choices (Côté and Morgan, 2002). The use of positive coping strategies may allow an individual to effectively counter such negative thinking and instead pursue career opportunities that may provide a better fit for their skills and interests. Indeed, when anxiety is lower, youth are more likely to engage in career exploration, and past research suggests that the use of cognitive self-efficacy skills similar to positive coping to reduce anxiety may be helpful for career decision making (O’Hare & Tamburri, 1986; Vignoli, 2015). Use such positive coping may become increasingly possible as youth move into early adulthood. Previous research has found that adults are significantly more likely to use positive coping strategies as compared to adolescents. Moreover, although positive coping strategies have been associated with lower levels of depression for both adolescents and adults, use of these strategies was only linked to lower levels of anxiety for adults (Garnefski, Legerstee, Kraaij, van den Kommer, & Teerds, 2002). There is some evidence to suggest that the cognitive and psychosocial capacities for using these strategies peak during the mid-to-late 20s, suggesting that young adults might be particularly primed to make use of them in career-related contexts (Steinberg, Cauffman, Woolard, Graham, & Banich, 2009). Young adults inclined to use positive coping skills may thus be better equipped for dealing with their anxiety when it arises and preventing it from negatively affecting their careers.

It was also found that highly anxious individuals who demonstrated functional competence in the eyes of their closest friend reported greater career satisfaction as compared to highly anxious individuals who were viewed as less functionally competent. This finding complements related research showing that career-related self-efficacy, which are beliefs about one’s ability to perform occupational tasks and challenges and pursue one’s career, are directly related to long-term career satisfaction, career advancement, and positive salary change (Abele & Spurk, 2009). One possible interpretation of these findings is that individuals who see themselves as responsible and independently capable – functionally competent – tend to have greater levels of intrinsic motivation, as outlined by self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Intrinsic motivation may explain an inclination toward mastery and interest exploration characteristic of the functionally-competent adult that would likely be applied to the career domain. It is possible that although these individuals may be anxious, they are nevertheless keenly aware of values such as responsibility or mastery which compel them to overcome anxiety in order to be successful in their career-related opportunities. It may also be that finding success in, and, consequently satisfaction with, their career also allows them to reinforce such values of being effective and responsible, leading to a feedback loop in which working through anxiety is rewarded by both career success and value fulfillment. Finally, aside from having qualities such as intrinsic motivation, it is possible that functionally-competent adults have learned specific skills related to independence and responsibility (e.g., organization, time management, planning, effective communication, etc.) that are important in the career context and allows them to achieve greater career-related success and satisfaction.

It is also important to note the absence of significant associations between anxiety at age 21 and positive coping and functional competence at age 24. Although it might be expected that having higher levels of anxiety might preclude one from using positive coping skills or achieving functional competence, this did not appear to be the case in this study. This suggests that these aspects of functioning may develop, and be able to be developed, alongside any challenges due to anxiety that one may experience. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that positive coping skills can be learned in the context of anxiety, and that autonomy promoting behaviors from parents and peers may lead to competence in adulthood. (Guay, Senécal, Gauthier, & Fernet, 2003; Hofmann & Smits, 2008). The final hypothesis thus aimed to identify such early developmental factors that might predict the development of these abilities. This hypothesis predicted that parental and peer autonomy and relatedness behaviors at age 13 would predict both functional competence and positive coping at age 24, and was partially supported. Neither autonomy/relatedness behaviors exhibited by the participant to their mother, nor by the mother to the participant, predicted the participant having positive coping skills or being functionally competent at age 24. Similarly, autonomy/relatedness behaviors of the participant to their closest friend did not predict functional competence or positive coping skills. However, the autonomy/relatedness behaviors of the closest friend toward the participant at age 13 did predict both functional competence and positive coping skills in participants at age 24.

These findings are consistent with previous research that found that while peer relationships, peer relatedness, and attachment to mothers are all significant predictors of environment exploration, budding independence, and career commitment, peer relatedness variables were the strongest predictors (Felsman & Blustein, 1999). These results have very important implications in terms of development during adolescence. While parental influence can play an important role in many situations, it did not predict the adolescent having positive coping skills or being functionally competent in early adulthood in this study. Because peer relationships tend to become increasingly influential during adolescence (Eccles, 1999), peers’ behaviors may become stronger models of how teens seek to ultimately be themselves. These findings suggest that establishing positive peer relationships that model autonomy and relatedness early on in adolescence may help such youth become more independent, and therefore have a more successful and satisfying career later in life, even when facing challenges such as high anxiety. It is possible that peers who do a better job of demonstrating autonomy and relatedness behaviors are also better problem solvers, perhaps modeling these skills to teens.

Although aided by strengths such as its longitudinal design and multi-method approach, some limitations of this study are important to note. First, this study examined only two potential moderators of the association between anxiety and future career satisfaction. There may be additional skills or characteristics that help anxious individuals overcome challenges associated with anxiety. Moreover, though this study was among the first to identify functional competence as a potentially key moderator, there is still work to be done to better understand what exactly about this construct lends itself to being helpful to individuals. It could be that it is a proxy for certain skills that are useful for managing anxiety, or perhaps for values that lead anxious individuals to “push through” despite anxiety. This construct was moderately correlated with the measure of positive coping skills used in this study, suggesting that there may be a skills-related component, but also that there may be other factors to parse apart. This study also identified one potential developmental precursor to positive coping skills and functional competence: autonomy and relatedness behaviors modelled by friends. However, the mechanism for how such behavior is predictive of individual’s future develop could not be established by this study. It is also important to note that this study measured trait-level, and not clinical levels, of anxiety. Examining anxiety from a clinically-based perspective might yield different results, particularly if individuals have engaged in treatment for such anxiety. Moreover, because this study did not have repeated measures of key constructs, the fixed and random effects of specific variables could not be accounted for. For example, there could be unmeasured factors that might contribute to changes in anxiety over time (as well as in other variables), such that anxiety may have been lower at age 24 as compared to age 21. This could allow for individuals to more easily access positive coping or functional competence skills, leading to better career satisfaction. Finally, while the sample used was representative of the population they were sampled from, a large majority of the participants identified as Caucasian/White, with smaller numbers of participants identifying as other ethnicities. With a larger range of ethnicities these results could be generalized more broadly.

In terms of future research, it could be beneficial to further investigate the roots of trait-level anxiety, especially as it pertains to its development in young adulthood when youth begin to pursue higher education or the workforce. This could provide more insight into the likely causes of adulthood anxiety and may also help identify other factors that could help limit its effects in the future. By encouraging adolescents to make important decisions mainly on their own, to be responsible, and instill positive coping skills, families can help encourage adolescents to become more functionally competent as a way to decrease the negative effects of their anxiety. In terms of peer relationships, the results of this study suggest that highly anxious individuals may want to surround themselves with friends who exhibit positive autonomous behaviors and who encourage independence and positive coping as a way to cope with anxiety.

In conclusion, this study identified protective factors that may lessen the negative effect of anxiety on future career satisfaction. Positive coping skills and functional competence were identified as such attenuating variables, and were predicted by the positive autonomy and relatedness behaviors of the youths’ closest friend in early adolescence. This study thus highlights the importance of forming positive peer relationships in early adolescence in order to become more skilled and independent in the future, which may result in a more satisfying career later on in life even in the face of challenges such as anxiety.