Effects of Orientations to Happiness on Vocational Identity Achievement‪.‬

There is an increased interest in vocational psychology and career counseling regarding the link between career development and well-being, yet, little is known about how different ways to achieve well-being or happiness relate to career development. This study explored the relationship between 3 orientations to happiness (meaning, pleasure, and engagement) and vocational identity achievement among 2 groups of Swiss adolescents (n = 268, 8th grade; n = 208, 11 th grade). The results indicated that more orientation to meaning and engagement but not to pleasure positively related to vocational identity achievement. In recent years, there has been increased interest in investigating the relationship between career development and subjective well-being (Lent, 2004; Walsh, 2008). The importance of this research field is supported by empirical studies (Creed, Prideaux, & Patton, 2005; Hirschi, 2009; Patton, Creed, & Muller, 2002; Skorikov, 2007; Skorikov & Vondracek, 2007a) suggesting a reciprocal relationship between subjective well-being and positive career development. However, little research is available regarding the way that different approaches to achieve subjective well-being (often equated with happiness; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999) are related to career development. The present study makes a contribution to this literature by investigating for the first time how different orientations to happiness relate to positive adolescent career development in terms of vocational identity achievement.