Index

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between the identity formation of adolescent Greek immigrants in Germany and the difficulties they encounter in making vocational decisions, as a prerequisite to the consequent selection of relevant education and training. The psychometric tools Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ) and The Career Decision Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ), as well as an improvised demographic questionnaire, were handed out to 100 pupils of the Hellenic High School of Wuppertal. The research results were interpreted in the light of Marcia’s identity typology and Gati’s theoretical model and revealed that: (a) Adolescents with an Identity Achievement had little difficulty in choosing a career, while others had considerable difficulty. (b) There was no relevance between age groups and identity typology. (c) Genders did not differ in identity typology and vocational decision-making difficulties. Both sexes seemed to have equal difficulty in their vocational pursuits. (d) School performance did not differ according to the type of identity. (e) The higher the school grades/performance, the higher the identity inquiry. (f) The greater the difficulties of adolescents in their vocational choices, the less committed they became. (g) The high and middle educational level of mothers (but not of fathers) led to higher rates of Identity Achievement. The difficulties of adolescents’ vocational decision-making did not differ according to the educational level of their parents. (h) The duration of staying of adolescent immigrants in Germany was not correlated with difficulties in their vocational choices.

Keywords: Adolescence, Immigration, Ego-identity status, Career guidance, Decision-making difficulties, Vocational educational policies.

Received: 18 May 2021 / Revised: 14 June 2021 / Accepted: 8 July 2021/ Published: 29 July 2021

Contribution/ Originality

The findings aim to assist the educational community in coping with the vocational decision difficulties of teenager immigrants, seek to contribute to the relevant existing literature and to serve in the planning of vocational educational policies for adolescents abroad.


1. INTRODUCTION

The rites of passage are associated with entering new stages, with a change of status and age. The margin phase in which, among other things, they are distinguished, hovers somewhere between and betwixt (Turner, 1977). During adolescence, persons pass from childhood to adulthood, experiencing a second birth. They leave family protection, shake off their former outward image, and, until they make a new one, feel threatened by an invisible enemy, which may be their formerly frightened Self, adolescent vulnerability, anger (Dolto, Dolto-Tolitch, & Percheminier, 2012).

Identity shaping, immigration, and vocational choice are perceived as rites of passage that may make it difficult for the adolescents, who may form a dysfunctional identity (Lightfoot, Cole, & Cole, 2014). They may also have difficulty making vocational decisions or making an inappropriate decision (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). Finally, it is possible, being immigrants, to adopt as culturalization strategies the separation or marginalization, which will cause them negative emotions and mental health problems (Pavlopoulos, Dalla, & Motti-Stefanidi, 2017).

This research highlights a variety of rites of passage; the transition from adolescence to adulthood and the interplay of this age with the formation of identity and with factors such as vocational decision and immigration, which also have an intermediate character. The research problem is examined in modern globalization and crisis, where the boundary between the old that recedes and the new that has not yet been formed is visible.

2. THE CONTEXT

Stormy adolescence is a special way of life. Adolescents, because of their biological maturity and uncertainty about the social behaviors of the adults that they are about to adopt, are anxious about how they look in the eyes of others, compared to what they feel they are (Erikson, 1994). They are upset during the crystallization of vocational decisions, because vocational choice interacts with multilevel changes that they experience, and with factors that contribute to the formation of their personality (Hadia, 2015). Critical factors are also the dynamic life experiences, such as migration, that changes the environment and determines the cultural, social and economic parameters with which the young immigrants coexist (Pavlopoulos et al., 2017). The socio-cultural context is underlined, as it is associated with challenges that the adolescents face in the formation of their identity and in their vocational orientation (Pavlopoulos, Bezevegkis, & Georganti, 2012).

According to maximal self-determination, people freely determine what kind of person they will become (Schwartz, 2000), while, according to the principle of epigenesis (Erikson, 1994), the personality evolves forever, following a series of conflicting psychosocial developmental stages, extending from birth to old age. Between the ages of 12 and 20, the adolescents seek the single, unique and consistent Self (Erikson, 1977), but then the protective falsehood emerges, which facilitates socialization. It, in order to activate the psychic reality of the inner world and the true context of life outside, must converse with the former authentic Self of the solitary play of childhood (Matot, 2014).

Through identity crisis, which is considered the normative psychosocial aspect of adolescence, adolescents mature (Erikson, 1977), resolving conflicts between positive and negative traits (Erikson, 1994). Social and individual factors converse and the adolescents, with an abstract-symbolic thinking, come up with serious issues, whose quality of negotiation depends on their maturity (Piaget & Inhelder, 1990). During this unifying process, the adolescents’ experiment with identities, being activated in their self-discovery. For optimal identity formation, a psychological moratorium is needed, where the adolescents explore more and engage less (Erikson, 1994).

Judgment/exploration and effectiveness/commitment are associated with identity-enhanced personality, which is a developmental stage and is established in late adolescence (Marcia, 1993). In exploration, the adolescents examine alternatives, combining self-knowledge and worldview. In commitment, they undertake obligations on catalytic issues for the transition to adulthood: Ideology, values, sexuality, subject of studies, career (Schwartz, Mullis, Waterman, & Dunham, 2000). Marcia, combining exploration and commitment, came up with the following adolescent identities: Identity Achievement, Identity Foreclosure, Moratorium and Identity Diffusion (Makri-Botsari, 2008).

In Identity Achievement, the teenagers, after going through periods of crisis, set goals, which they try to achieve through decisions. Politicized and with a worldview, they reflect on the vocational choices that they make (Marcia, 2002). In Identity Foreclosure, the teenagers unquestionably adopt the standards of their parents. Although they probably did not experience a crisis, they are committed to the views and attitudes of others. The overprotective family, with interfering parents, determines the values of this style of identity (Marcia, 1966). In Moratorium, the teenagers try. They are experiencing a turbulent period of crisis, with successive changes in their preferences. Their inner confusion is reflected in their moody behavior that stigmatizes their relationships with the environment (Marcia, 2002). In Identity Diffusion, the adolescents only target in the short term. They do not try; they fear responsibilities. Trying alternatives, they have preferences, but, by not connecting theory and practice, they do not form a clear identity (Marcia, 1966).

The most functional identity style is the Achievement one. Its independent teenagers have a clear plan. They have self-confidence, good grades/performance, and acceptable behavior. Their parents release them, offering them a secure bond that gives them a sense of acceptance (Kroger & Haslett, 1988). The passive teenagers of Identity Foreclosure submit to leading parents, who force them to adhere to family traditions. With limited sociability and lack of creativity, they become uncompromising and complacent in later life (Frank, Pirsch, & Wright, 1990). The stressful teenagers of Moratorium show mobility. Yet, the supportive parents reinforce their expression, which allows them to disagree, without, however, losing mutual respect. Although treated as self-existents, they have difficulties to commit to long-term intimacy (Grotevant & Cooper, 1985). The volatile teenagers of Identity Diffusion neither explore nor engage. They do not develop close interpersonal relationships; they are socially isolated. They often feel that their absent parents have abandoned or neglected them and, being emotionally distant, they feel that they do not communicate with them (Berzonsky, 2004).

Since identity is a work of individual and social determination, its formation, in addition to the emergence of human inner forces, also takes on a behavioral dimension (Potamianos, 2012). It is a dynamic self-construction of fluctuations and restatements, which is not resolved once and for all in adolescence. As the understanding of the Self is revised, identity is formed in successive periods of exploration-commitment, in cycles of Moratorium - Achievement - Moratorium - Achievement (MAMA cycles) (Stephen, Fraser, & Marcia, 1992).

However, career development is also a lifelong process, part of which is the vocational choice (Kantas & Hantzi, 1991), as a prerequisite to the consequent selection of relevant education and training. Some people are engaged in their future profession since their childhood. For others, however, the vocational choice is not linked to desires and talents but to the law of supply and demand in the labor market. Most people move between these two extremes (Feldman, 2010). Individually and in combination, personal and social factors are motivations for a vocational choice (Kazi, 2007), and the transition from school to work is assisted by family, educators and significant Others (e.g., friends and/or classmates), confirming or even extending the initial adolescent choices (Phillips, Christopher-Sisk, & Gravino, 2001). A key role in vocational exploration is played by the unique profile of each adolescent (Argyropoulou, 2017).

Often, the choice of profession and studies are interrelated (Koumoundourou, Tsaousis, & Kounenou, 2011). The Greek adolescent immigrants in Germany, pupils of Greek high-schools there, participate annually in the Pan-Hellenic Examinations of Greek Expatriates and are admitted directly in Greek universities and indirectly in German ones. With the Greek High School Diploma, they can be trained vocationally in Germany, in specialized post-secondary studies (“Ausbildung”). Of course, there are also those who replace their parents in production, as unskilled or skilled workers (Damanakis et al., 2011).

As a rule, a vocational decision is complex and problematic (Di Fabio, Palazzeschi, Asulin-Peretz, & Gati, 2013). Procrastination in job-seeking, as a developmental stage, is expected (Guay, Senecal, Gauthier, & Fernet, 2003), but, as a consistent personality feature, it becomes a chronic career indecision, generalized to any significant decision-making (Osipow, 1999). Instead, the ideal vocational decision maker takes its responsibility (Gati, Krausz, & Osipow, 1996). (Gati et al., 1996) proposed a model in which, initially, they classified the difficulties of vocational decision-making into those that occur prior to the beginning of decision-making process and those that appear during this process. The first includes the lack of readiness, while the latter include the lack of information and the inconsistent information. These categories are divided into ten subcategories: lack of motivation, general indecisiveness, dysfunctional myths, lack of knowledge about the career decision-making process (Steps), lack of self-knowledge (Self), lack of information on alternative occupations, lack of information on the ways of obtaining information, unreliable information, conflicts of persons with themselves (internal conflicts) and with significant Others (external conflicts). The combination of internal concerns and exposure to a multicultural environment disrupts the acquisition of adolescents’ identity (Giang & Wittig, 2006), while the cultural dimension is also involved in career choice, especially when adolescents move to a country with a different culture from home (Gutierrez-Alcivar, 2015). Yet, the ability of their families to adapt to the new culture, while preserving the cultural identity of their birthplace, protects the vocational choice of adolescent immigrants. Otherwise, immigrant adolescents face a stressful process, traumatic and mournful (Pavlopoulos, Dalla, & Motti-Stefanidi, 2011). However, the mentally resilient, in their adaptation, operate with intercultural competence and, supported by compensatory means, manage their vulnerability, considering that immigration gave them more than it took them (Takis, 2006).

In addition, adolescent immigrants face challenges beyond immigration. The family’s financial hardship and adolescents’ commitment to the family core and community preclude career choices (Bonifacio, 2016). Their stress, due to the stereotype threat, in which the natives charge them with low cognitive abilities, may hinder their academic performance (Weber, Appel, & Kronberger, 2015). However, whenever academically superior to the natives, they respond with the immigrant paradox: They study more at home, score better on exams, and grow faster (Garcia Coll et al., 2012). Yet, due to racism, they experience supercultural stress, which is associated with low self-esteem, depression, marginalization, identity confusion, even with toxic substances and alcohol (Takis et al., 2006). Teenagers are usually flexible, while their parents are not. This, combined with the divergence of individualistic (host country) and collective (country of origin) cultures, directs them, in order to save family cohesion, to subordinate their personal interests to kinship (Akosah-Twumasi, Emeto, Lindsay, Tsey, & Malau-Aduli, 2018).

Greek adolescent immigrants in Germany have additional difficulties and socio-psychological burdens (Hopf, 1993). Whether attending a Greek school abroad or living in areas exclusively inhabited by Greeks, they are exposed to both the immigrant microcosm (ghetto) and German society (Kasimati, 1983). They experience the constant problems of every Greek teenager immigrant in the world, who, trying to combine old and new, as abroad they are considered Greeks but in Greece foreigners, feel, at the same time, both Greek and acclimatized in the host country (Varverakis, 2011). Part of their difficulties focuses on school and career (Hopf, 1991).

3. SCOPE AND RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

An attempt is made herein to connect the typology of identity and the difficulties in choosing a career for pupils of the Hellenic High School of Wuppertal (North Rhine-Westphalia). Also, highlighting, according to Marcia, the type of their identity and the projection of the process in making vocational choices is also enquired. Factors that may be related to adolescent personal identity and vocational decision difficulties (gender, age, school performance, educational level of parents, and the duration of stay of adolescent immigrants in Germany) are also being investigated.
The research hypotheses are:

4. METHODOLOGY

4.1. Sample

The sample, initially, consisted of 134 pupils, 15-18 years old, of the Hellenic High School (Gymnasium – Lyceum) of Wuppertal. However, using the validity of the Gati’s questionnaire (Gati et al., 1996), it eventually included 100 questionnaires. The sample of 100 pupils is formed as follows:

The selection of the sample was based on the fact that from the 3rd Grade of Gymnasium, adolescents gradually form a personal identity and are reflected in vocational decisions. Questionnaires were handed out in four classes, to identify differences related to age. The distribution of their fathers and mothers, depending on their educational level, is shown in Table 1.

Table-1 . Distribution of the sample, depending on the educational level of their parents.

Educational Level
Frequency
Percentage
Fathers
Mothers
Fathers
Mothers
Elementary School
5
7
5%
7%
Junior High School (Gymnasium)
28
16
28%
16%
Senior High School (Lyceum)
45
45
45%
45%
Tertiary Vocational Graduates
6
15
6%
15%
University Graduates
9
13
9%
13%
Post-graduate Degrees
6
4
6%
4%
Doctoral Degrees
1
-
1%
-
Total
100
100
100%
100%

The distribution of the grouped educational levels of fathers and mothers is shown in Table 2 (Low: Elementary, Gymnasium; Medium: Lyceum; High: Tertiary Education).

Table-2 . Distribution of the sample, depending on the grouped educational level of their parents.

Educational Level
Frequency
Percentage
Fathers
Mothers
Fathers
Mothers
Low
33
23
33%
23%
Medium
45
45
45%
45%
High
22
32
22%
32%
Total
100
100
100%
100%

4.2. Data Collection - Means

The Greek versions of the following questionnaires were handed out:

Also, an improvised questionnaire was issued (Demographics Questionnaire), which concerns socio-demographic data of Greek adolescent immigrants in Germany (gender, age, place of birth, time of residence of themselves and their parents in Germany, class, marital status, educational level - occupation of parents, school performance).

The EIPQ evaluates the search for and commitment to a psychological identity during adolescence and emerging adulthood (Zimmermann, Mantzouranis, & Biermann, 2010). Its 32 elements were randomly classified into the dimensions of exploration and commitment (Balistreri, Busch-Rossnagel, & Geisinger, 1995), which are evaluated in ideological field (profession, religion, politics, values) and interpersonal field (family, friendships, relationships with the opposite sex, gender roles). The agreement is declared on a six-point Likert scale. The sum of the scores gives the total scores of exploration and commitment. The differential correlation of the dimensions, based on the configuration of their separate scores in relation to the median, results in the identities of Marcia (Georganti, 2009). The median values were: 66.5 (exploration) and 62.0 (commitment). The separate scores of the two dimensions directly evaluate the contribution of each dimension. Those who, in both dimensions, are rated above the median are classified in the Identity Achievement, while those who are rated below are classified in the Identity Diffusion. Those who, in the exploration, are rated above the median but, in the commitment, below, are classified in the Moratorium. Those with the opposite of the previous results are classified in Identity Foreclosure. The reliability of the tool was tested by its creators separately for each of the dimensions. The internal consistency index of Cronbach α was: 0.76 for exploration and 0.75 for commitment (Balistreri et al., 1995), while in the present study it is: 0.44 for exploration and 0.66 for commitment.

The CDDQ is for teens and young adults. It estimates vocational indecision and evaluates the causes of difficulties in making vocational decisions (Gati & Kulcsar, 2019). The edition of the present study includes 34 questions of basic and individual difficulties (Gati & Saka, 2001), on a nine-point Likert scale. The creators of the tool tested its reliability in an Israeli and an American sample of men and women, 19 to 23 years old. The average Cronbach α reliability index for the ten scales of difficulties was 0.78 and 0.77, respectively. In both samples, the overall reliability of the tool was 0.95. The similarity of the Cronbach α index in the whole tool, from its application to both samples, is reflected in the Spearman correlation coefficient: 0.94 for the 10 scales (Gati et al., 1996). The average Cronbach α reliability index in the present study is 0.87.

4.3. Data Collection - Procedure

A quantitative research was carried out by convenient sampling. After receiving the relevant permits (approval of the research and validation of its approval by the Greek Institute of Educational Policy and the Ministry of Education, respectively), teachers, pupils and parents of the school were informed about the purpose, its duration, the way of using the data or results, its benefits and the privacy protection measures (Creswell, 2016). Parents/guardians were given consent forms for their minor children to participate in the research. The questionnaires were completed at school, without third party interventions. Two teaching hours were required in each class. Due to the large number of pupils in the classrooms, two teachers were present. To ensure non-effect of the series, the EIPQ and the CDDQ were distributed alternately in a second phase, while the Demographics Questionnaire was completed at the same time, at the beginning of the process. For the protection of personal data, these confidential and research-only questionnaires were anonymized (Robson, 2010).

5. FINDINGS - RESULTS

5.1. Identity and Difficulty in Making a Vocational Decision

This relationship was investigated by applying the Single Factor Variance Analysis (ANOVA). Adolescents, depending on their type of identity, differed in the difficulty of making vocational decisions [F (3, 96) = 8.08, p < 0.001]. The subsequent Bonferroni testing showed that the mean value (MV) of difficulty for Moratorium adolescents (MV = 4.42 and SD = 1.10) was higher compared to Identity Achievement adolescents (MV = 3.05 and SD = 0.94) and to Identity Foreclosure ones (MV = 3.56 and SD = 1.15). A statistically significant difference was observed between adolescents with Identity Achievement and Diffusion (MV = 3.92 and SD = 1.09) (see Table 3 and Figure 1).

Table-3. MV and SD of the difficulties in making vocational decisions depending on the type of identity.

Identity Type
Difficulties in making vocational decisions
MV
SD
Identity Diffusion
3.92
1.09
Identity Foreclosure
3.56
1.15
Moratorium
4.42
1.1
Identity Achievement
3.05
0.94

5.2. Age and Typology of Identity

To investigate the differentiation of age groups (14-16, 17-18 years old) and the identity typology, a χ2 test was applied. It appeared that there was no differentiation
[χ2 (3, N = 100) = 3.37, p > 0.05].

5.3. Gender: Identity typology and difficulties in making a vocational decision

In the case concerning the differentiation of gender and identity, a χ2 test was applied. It appeared that there was no gender differentiation [χ2 (3, N = 100) = 3.78, p > 0.05]. In order to check whether the genders differ in the difficulties of making vocational decisions, a statistical t-test was applied. The two genders did not differ [t (98) = 0.87, p > 0.05].

5.4. School Performance: Identity and Difficulties in Making a Vocational Decision

To examine whether adolescents of different identity types differ in school performance, a Single-Factor Variance Analysis (ANOVA) was applied. The identity types did not differ [F (3, 96) = 2.19, p > 0.05]. To test the relationship between school performance, difficulty in making vocational decisions and of both identity dimensions, the Pearson r correlation analysis was applied. A weak positive correlation was found between school performance and exploration; a moderately negative correlation was found between commitment and vocational decision-making difficulties (see Table 4).

Figure-1. Differentiation of the MV of difficulties depending on the type of identity.

Table-4. School performance, vocational decision-making difficulties and identity dimensions.

 
1
2
3
4
1. School performance
1
-0,08
-0,02
0,28*
2. Vocational decision-making difficulties
1
-0,40**
0,06
3. Commitment
1
-0,03
4. Exploration
1

Note: *p < 0.01, **p < 0.001.

5.5. Educational Level of Parents: Identity and Vocational Decision-Making Difficulties

The χ2 test was applied. There is no difference between identity typology and fathers’ educational level [χ2 (6, N = 100) = 10.253, p > 0.05], while there is a difference between identity typology and mothers’ educational level [χ2 (6, N = 100) = 17.746, p < 0.01].

Adolescents with low-educated mothers were categorized into Identity Diffusion, then into the Moratorium, then into Identity Foreclosure, and finally into Identity Achievement. At the mothers' medium educational level, the highest percentages of adolescents were categorized into Identity Achievement, then into Identity Foreclosure, then into the Moratorium, and finally into Identity Diffusion. At the high educational level of mothers, the highest percentages were categorized into Identity Achievement, then into the Moratorium, then into Identity Foreclosure and, finally, into Identity Diffusion (see Table 5).

Table-5. Distribution of identities compared to the educational level of mothers.

Identity typology
Educational level [N (%)]
Total
Low
Medium
High
Identity Diffusion
9 (39.1%)
7 (15.6%)
2 (6.3%)
18 (18%)
Identity Foreclosure
5 (21.7%)
12 (26.7%)
4 (12.5%)
21 (21%)
Moratorium
7 (30.4%)
9 (20.0%)
11 (34.4%)
27 (27%)
Identity Achievement
2 (8.7%)
17 (37.8%)
15 (46.9%)
34 (34%)
Total
23 (100%)
45 (100%)
32 (100%)
100 (100%)

In the investigation of the relationship between the educational level of parents and the difficulties of making vocational decisions, a Single-Factor Variance Analysis (ANOVA) was applied. Regardless of their educational level, adolescents did not differ in their difficulty of making vocational decisions:
Fathers: [F (2.97) = .243, p > 0.05]; Mothers: [F (2.97) = 2.76, p > 0.05].

5.6. Living Time in Germany and Difficulties in Vocational Decision-Making

The Pearson r correlation analysis showed that there is no statistically significant correlation between them [r (100) = 0.06, p > 0.05].

6. DISCUSSION – CONCLUSIONS

While biological evolution interacts with the teachings of Others, the child self-organizes and develops, as an active and free subject, utilizing even the collective social memory (Jacquard, 2010).

In the present study, it was confirmed that adolescents, depending on the type of identity, have a different difficulty in making vocational decisions. The adolescents of Identity Achievement faced negligible difficulties (Gordon & Steel, 2015; Marcia, 1966; Marcia, 2002), but, contrary to assumptions, the adolescents of Identity Foreclosure faced numerous ones, perhaps because the compliance with parental standards may not have been convincingly adopted (Frank et al., 1990). The increased difficulties are probably due to the release from their parents or even to the fact that these adolescents are going through the transition from Identity Foreclosure to Moratorium (Kroger & Haslett, 1987). Since Identity Foreclosure persons are in both a “developmental” and a “binding” stage, participants are likely to be “developmental”, thus exploring more and therefore having more difficulties (Jespersen, Kroger, & Martinussen, 2013). The findings confirmed that adolescents of Moratorium and Identity Diffusion would have more difficulties in making vocational decisions (Gordon & Steel, 2015; Marcia, 1966; Marcia, 2002). The crisis of functional identity, which, above all, characterizes the Moratorium, explains the appearance of additional difficulties in making a vocational decision (Meeus, 1996). The adolescents of Identity Diffusion are not realistic; they do not try to be (Marcia, 1966). As a result, they have difficulty in making vocational choices. They did not have much difficulty herein, however, but moderate; possibly because, in the questionnaires, they chose the easy solution of the commonly accepted position, in the middle of each scale (Katerelos, 2020).

There was no difference between age and identity typology. The older teenagers were classified in Identity Achievement and Moratorium but the youngest ones in all types. Research observes a particular sequence of developmental progress in measured forms of adolescents’ identity (Identity Foreclosure or Diffusion, Moratorium, Identity Achievement) (Meilman, 1979). Others, however, support a non-specific sequence of transition from type to type of identity (Bosma & Kunnen, 2001). The findings are reinforced by Erikson (1994), according to which adolescents enter adolescence already engaged, due to the resolution of psychosocial crises in childhood. Contributing studies suggest that early adolescents have strong identity commitments (Adams & Jones, 1983; Archer, 1982; Meeus, Jedema, Helsen, & Vollebergh, 1999). Therefore, even participants aged 14-16 may have already strongly chosen and thus been classified in Identity Achievement. Moreover, the Moratorium, as an identity of some younger people, is probably not Marcia's Moratorium but the transitional searching moratorium, which is observed in the beginning and middle of adolescence, but disappears at the end of it Meeus et al. (2010).

There was no difference between gender and identity typology; gender and degree of difficulty in making a vocational decision. The results are consistent with studies that do not show significant gender differences in identity situations (Kumru & Thomson, 2003), and show that gender is not associated with vocational decision-making difficulties (Gati et al., 2000).

Both girls and boys in this survey belong to Moratorium and Identity Achievement. Since 1960, the gender differences have emerged more in interpersonal than in ideological and overall identity (Meeus et al., 2010). It is therefore reasonable today for the teenagers in Germany to have overcome issues of gender discrimination. Regarding girls, the results go along with other researches (Meeus et al., 2010; Streitmatter, 1988) and explain that: In early adolescence, girls’ brains develop rapidly, resulting in girls entering adolescence early. Other studies classify boys mainly in Identity Achievement and Moratorium (Marcia, 1993), because they focus on having strong identities and not on developing intimate relationships (Erikson, 1994).

The results confirmed that boys and girls have equal difficulty in making vocational decisions. In the West, there are now drastic changes in gender differentiation and perceptions that distinguish women from men in social and vocational issues (Gonida-Bamniou & Deligianni-Kouimtzi, 2008). After all, other factors may have contributed to the vocational development of adolescents in this sample (personal interests, individual ambitions, family, educational and socio-economic background of parents, school, peers, wider socio-cultural environment) (Sidiropoulou-Dimakakou et al., 2008). Therefore, gender does not dominate in this respect.

The school performance is not affected by the type of identity. However, in the test between school performance, difficulty in making vocational decisions and in both dimensions of identity, it was observed that the higher the performance of these adolescents, the more they explore; while, the more difficulties they have in their career choices, the less they commit. These results are interpreted because the persons of Identity Achievement and Moratorium, having an exploration score above the median (Balistreri et al., 1995), adopt better study habits, thus achieving higher academic performance (Berzonsky, 2004; Lange & Byrd, 2002). Due to their study experience, they are perfectionists with demands on themselves. They feel their responsibilities, worry about their vocational decision (Kerr & Sodano, 2003) and, because of more choices, feel uncertain (Hadia, 2015). Therefore, it is believed that, perhaps for better results, they are constantly researching and, due to their increasing effort, are scoring higher. However, these findings are met with skepticism, since the submitted school performance of the anonymized questionnaires has not been cross-checked at the School Records. Probably the teenagers, due to low self-confidence and burdened with the expectations of Others, hid their insecurities behind untrue elements (Eleftherakis & Korosis, 2014; Makri-Botsari, 2008).

Moratorium and Identity Diffusion adolescents are low-committed (Balistreri et al., 1995). The former soon drastically change their preferences (Marcia, 2002). Their possible mood swings negatively affected the areas of their lives, increasing difficulties in vocational decisions. Because of their potentially fear-of-responsibility behavior, the same happened to the latter, as well (Peterson, Marcia, & Carpendale, 2004), because they are inconsistent and dreamy (Marcia, 1966). Because of the difficulties, they move away from educational events and ignore parameters in the vocational decision-making process. Because they have difficulties, they are not committed and, possibly, they are not involved in educational practice (Peterson et al., 2004). This is how lower-performance adolescents work mostly, choosing academically and vocationally based on their areas of greatest strength (Kerr & Sodano, 2003). Their school performance also determines their vocational choices (Dimaki, Kaminioti, Kostaki, Tsourti, & Psarakis, 2004).

The findings showed a lack of relationship between fathers’ educational level and identity types, contrary to the relationship between mothers’ educational level and identity types. Maternal communication is a catalyst in adolescents’ exploration and, possibly, the mothers of the participants have a strong binary relationship with them (Meeus, Oosterwegel, & Vollebergh, 2002). The educational level of parents did not differentiate the degree of difficulty of adolescents in making vocational decisions, perhaps because the direct influences of the family did not play a role, like the indirect ones (e.g., adolescents-parents proximity, parenting style, parent-school relationship etc .) (Kazi, 2007). Despite the bidirectional teen-mother relationship, it is likely that these teenagers and their families were influenced by the German family model, where mothers, although concerned about their children, do not exaggerate parental interference. At the same time, Greek immigrant mothers in Germany make a living, working intensively. Therefore, their children become autonomous, without the external interventions of parents, regarding emotions and attitudes. Moreover, as a consequence of the fact that the Greek society now resembles Western models, the intercultural research presents Greek adolescents and post-adolescents moderately dependent on their parents (Christopoulou, Sotiropoulou, & Pavlopoulos, 2010). In fact, it can be assumed that the aforementioned mothers did not trap their children (of early - mainly - adolescence) in the society of origin. They managed their nostalgia for homeland and did not suspend the independence of their children (Spiegler, Thijs, Verkuyten, & Leyendecker, 2019).

Although immigrant stories include separation, loss of faces and objects, sadness, mourning, fear, cultural shock, communication problems, loneliness, prejudice, isolation, and identity redefining (Kerrisk, 2010), it appeared that the particular adolescents perceived their biographical discontinuity as an evolutionary phase (Herwartz-Emden & Berez, 2007). They harmonized with the host country and the relocation did not cause them any emotional disturbances (Takis et al., 2006). This may be due to the fact that they did not face racism (Oppedal, Røysamb, & Lackland, 2004) or were supported by their ethnic group, their socioeconomic status or even by the specifics of Germany (Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006).

6.1. Limitations - Suggestions

The results aim to assist the educational community as a whole and to serve in the planning of the educational policy for Greek children abroad (Hellenic Ministry of Education), regarding vocational guidance and counseling. Therefore, it would help, in a future research, to further examine the topic of this one. By removing the limitations of the present one, conducting more research would highlight the needs and support the preparation of appropriate educational-counseling programs.

Because the sample was very small and involved just one school, the results only describe, confirm or disprove the hypotheses locally; they cannot be generalized to the relevant population, since they have no diversity. Their objectivity would be ensured by simple random sampling and by taking the scores from the School Records. Combining the EIPQ with Marcia’s interviews and measuring areas of interest to adolescents (e.g., body image) would reveal more deeply their identity status. Tracing the relationship between the types of parenting practice with identity typology and the degree of difficulty in vocational decision-making would advance research. The same would happen with the examination of the complex interrelated parameters of the Social Family Level, or with the investigation on the degree of influence of parents and peers. Determining the impact of immigration on national and ethnic identity and on the relationship of specific identities with vocational decision-making difficulties highlights the socio-cultural environment. It would be scientifically interesting to compare the results of the present study with the findings of similar research, both domestically (Greece) and abroad, in countries with Greek school communities (e.g., USA, Australia). Finally, conducting comparative studies on the relationship between the type of psychological identity and the degree of difficulty in making career decisions in adolescents of ethnic populations other than Greek would emphasize broader aspects of the relationship and the uniqueness of each culture.

Nevertheless, such studies require the existence of a relevant career guidance and counseling service. Prior to 2011, the Hellenic Ministry of Education included an independent career guidance and counseling service, having bureaus all over the country, staffed with more than 700 teachers, specialized in career guidance and counseling. This qualified personnel practically covered the entire Greek secondary education, in offering the relevant services. After the emergence of the economic crisis in Greece and due to subsequent cutbacks on the national budget for education, nowadays there are less than 150 career counselors, without central administrative supervision, who cannot adequately meet the needs of vocational counseling domestically. The Hellenic Ministry of Education also operates 22 purely Greek high schools abroad (like the one herein, in Wuppertal), where there has never been any provision for offering vocational guidance services.

Recognizing this lack of vocational counseling services abroad, in January 2019, the authors herein implemented a relevant intervention at the Hellenic High School of Wuppertal, aiming at assisting the pupils of the 3rd Grade of Lyceum (the last one) in making educational choices for their admission to the Greek universities, after participating to the National Examinations. After acquiring the permission of the Greek educational authorities, the first author coordinated this activity at Wuppertal, while the second one conducted a single group session of counseling for two teaching hours, through teleconferencing at the central premises of the Hellenic Ministry of Education (Athens). The universities with their departments and studies, the prerequisites for the participation to the National Examinations and the required scores for admission were presented and analyzed, as well as related questions of the pupils were answered. This successful, according to the stakeholders, pilot-action demonstrated the feasibility of offering on-line vocational guidance and counseling services to schools abroad, thanks to the usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This initiative has not been repeated since, although a couple of counselors would have been enough for covering the most urgent part of vocational guidance needs of Greek high schools abroad. The authors though are available for sharing their know-how.

Funding: This study received no specific financial support.  

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Acknowledgement: The authors express their thankfulness to the following persons: S. Kazi, Associate Professor of Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (Athens), who supported, providing feedback, the completion of this research, and managed with ease and efficiency the problems that arose throughout its preparation; Itamar Gati, Emeritus Professor at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who, responding immediately to our request for providing a CDDQ, generously demonstrated that science and selfishness are incompatible; V. Pavlopoulos, Associate Professor of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, for the material that he gave us and the trust he showed us.

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