Abstract
The present study examined the patterns of individual adjustment and career consciousness of 154 Japanese junior high school students at 4 months before transition to high school. The relations between those patterns and adjustment after transition to high school also were examined. Four distinct patterns of junior high school students' adjustment and career consciousness were found by means of cluster analysis; (a) having low self confidence and low social support, (b) having undeveloped career consciousness and dissatisfaction with academic performance, (c) depending on others and having dissatisfaction with school life, and (d) having high self-efficacy and making a good adjustment. The students who had high self-efficacy and were well adjusted before transition showed better adjustment to high schools after transition than the students who had low self confidence and low social support. The results are discussed in terms of individual differences among adolescents in their adjustment to high school transition. Educational implications of students' social support and self-efficacy are also discussed.
