Structural Models and Occupational Aspirations : Black-White Variations Among Deep-South Adolescents / Arthur G. Cosby and J. Steven Picou.

Multi-variate techniques for attribute data and the backward elimination procedure developed in regression analysis were utilized in an analysis of the occupational aspirations of deep-South adolescents. Data were obtained from interviews with 6,500 10th-grade students in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The 4 independent variables were father's education, father's occupation, residence, and race. An examination of the models constructed revealed that (1) social class indicators accounted for the largest effect estimates, (2) residence was associated with a smaller portion of the variation, and (3) the effect of race was negligible when controls were applied. Application of the most efficient model to black and white subsamples revealed race variations in both composite effect estimates and the rank order of effect estimates. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the developmental model of occupational choice, and suggestions for further research are presented. (Author/PS)

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