Gendered Interest Structures Exist and Persist Throughout Adolescence: A Latent Profile and Transition Analysis of Academic and Vocational Interests in German Students

Gendered interests are an important driver of gendered academic and vocational decisions and thus contribute to sustaining gender inequalities in the European labor market. Therefore, in order to counteract these inequalities, it is essential to understand the development of gendered interest structures and its potential causes. The present study examines the development of gendered academic and vocational interests in early adolescence. Based on longitudinal data from the German National Educational Panel Study, the trajectories of adolescents’ interests were investigated between the ages 12 and 15 (N = 5,699) using a person-centered approach through latent profile and transition analyses. We expected that gender differences in interest structures would increase during this period, especially for adolescents with traditional gender role orientation. Supporting our hypotheses, results indicated that gendered interest structures do indeed exist and persist throughout early adolescence, with girls’ interests still following gender stereotypes slightly more strongly than boys’ interests at age 15. The adolescents’ interests generally differentiated between the ages 12 and 15, but only boys showed more gender-stereotypical interests (e.g., mathematics) at age 15 than at age 12. In contrast to our hypotheses, both girls and boys exhibited more counter-stereotypical interests (e.g., mathematics for girls and German for boys) at age 15. Gender role orientation did not predict the development of more gender-stereotypical interests. The results are discussed in the light of theories on gender roles and interests in childhood and adolescence.