Vocational guidance and personality traits in adolescents: a systematic review of broad personality models and RIASEC associations with vocational outcomes
Journal
Frontiers in Developmental Psychology
Date Issued
2026-06-25
Author(s)
Jaramillo-Cumbicus, Kayla
Faz-Cevallos, Eduardo
Type
Article
Abstract
Background
The associations between broad personality traits, as captured by the Big Five and related taxonomies and vocational outcomes (career maturity, career decision-making self-efficacy, vocational identity, vocational interests, and the congruence between RIASEC vocational personality and career aspirations) constitute an important field of inquiry for understanding adolescents' career development.
Objective
The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the available scientific evidence (2020-2025) on these associations in adolescents, and to examine, where reported, the congruence between RIASEC vocational personality profiles and career aspirations.
Methods
The review followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Searches were conducted in four databases (PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, and ERIC) using three complementary search strings, in addition to a manual search. Inclusion criteria comprised: empirical studies of adolescents aged 12-18 years (or with a mean age within this range), published between 2020 and 2025 in English or Spanish, that explicitly examined associations between personality traits assessed under the Big Five model, the HEXACO model (which shares four broad factors with the Big Five), or Holland's RIASEC vocational interests model, and at least one vocational variable (career decision-making, vocational identity, vocational interests, career choice, or career maturity). From a total of 242 records identified, 14 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis.
Results
Conscientiousness and openness to experience are positive correlates of career maturity, career decision-making self-efficacy, and vocational identity in several, though not all, of the included studies; the strength and direction of the conscientiousness-outcome association varied across vocational outcomes and depended on which other predictors (e.g., RIASEC interests, self-efficacy) were modeled. Neuroticism (and its HEXACO counterpart, Emotionality) was consistently associated with greater decisional difficulties and lower vocational commitment. Studies that applied Holland's RIASEC model to assess vocational interests yielded mixed evidence on cross-cultural congruence: in the small number of studies available (one per cultural context), moderate congruence was observed in a collectivistic Asian sample, while low congruence was reported in a rural Latin American context. These context-specific patterns should be interpreted as preliminary, given that they rest on a single study per cultural setting.
Discussion
Significant gaps were identified in longitudinal studies, personality-based interventions, and evidence from Latin America. These findings underscore the value of integrating personality trait assessment into vocational guidance programs for adolescents, while acknowledging that the contribution of any single trait depends on contextual and outcome-specific factors.
Systematic review registration:
https://osf.io/zmdks
, identifier 10.17605/OSF.IO/ZMDKS.
The associations between broad personality traits, as captured by the Big Five and related taxonomies and vocational outcomes (career maturity, career decision-making self-efficacy, vocational identity, vocational interests, and the congruence between RIASEC vocational personality and career aspirations) constitute an important field of inquiry for understanding adolescents' career development.
Objective
The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the available scientific evidence (2020-2025) on these associations in adolescents, and to examine, where reported, the congruence between RIASEC vocational personality profiles and career aspirations.
Methods
The review followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Searches were conducted in four databases (PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, and ERIC) using three complementary search strings, in addition to a manual search. Inclusion criteria comprised: empirical studies of adolescents aged 12-18 years (or with a mean age within this range), published between 2020 and 2025 in English or Spanish, that explicitly examined associations between personality traits assessed under the Big Five model, the HEXACO model (which shares four broad factors with the Big Five), or Holland's RIASEC vocational interests model, and at least one vocational variable (career decision-making, vocational identity, vocational interests, career choice, or career maturity). From a total of 242 records identified, 14 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis.
Results
Conscientiousness and openness to experience are positive correlates of career maturity, career decision-making self-efficacy, and vocational identity in several, though not all, of the included studies; the strength and direction of the conscientiousness-outcome association varied across vocational outcomes and depended on which other predictors (e.g., RIASEC interests, self-efficacy) were modeled. Neuroticism (and its HEXACO counterpart, Emotionality) was consistently associated with greater decisional difficulties and lower vocational commitment. Studies that applied Holland's RIASEC model to assess vocational interests yielded mixed evidence on cross-cultural congruence: in the small number of studies available (one per cultural context), moderate congruence was observed in a collectivistic Asian sample, while low congruence was reported in a rural Latin American context. These context-specific patterns should be interpreted as preliminary, given that they rest on a single study per cultural setting.
Discussion
Significant gaps were identified in longitudinal studies, personality-based interventions, and evidence from Latin America. These findings underscore the value of integrating personality trait assessment into vocational guidance programs for adolescents, while acknowledging that the contribution of any single trait depends on contextual and outcome-specific factors.
Systematic review registration:
https://osf.io/zmdks
, identifier 10.17605/OSF.IO/ZMDKS.