Continuity and Change in Work Values Among Young Adults: A Longitudinal Study

Stability and Change in intrinsic and extrinsic work values are modeled using data for 1972 and 1979 from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, a nationwide sample of high school seniors (N= 9,208). Previous findings, from a more limited sample, of the stability of work values, their effects of occupation are all reconfirmed. Educational attainment is affected by initial work values; it also has socializing effects on work values and affects occupational selection. Inclusion of data on gender, family socioeconomic status, and race adds considerably to the explanation, because these attributes affect initial values, educational attainment, and occupational selection.