Investigating associations between parental support and personality with artistic career aspirations

Research has examined if personality (Woods & Hampson, 2010) and parental support (Wall et al., 1999) are related to career choice. However, they have not been studied together or specifically focused on artistic careers. Much of the research has focused on future STEM careers (Edwin, Prescod, & Bryan, 2019). This study explores whether personality predicts artistic career aspirations and if parental support is a factor that moderates this association. Data (N = 90, 66% women, 67% were between the ages of 18-23) were collected through a questionnaire comprising an artistic personality scale and perceived parental-support scale followed by items assessing future career aspirations and perceptions of how artistic they perceive that career to be. A regression analysis found that artistic personality was a significant predictor of artistic career aspirations, and that parental support was not a significant moderator of this interaction. This study increases the understanding of why people go into an artistic career path, and how external as well as internal factors could impact individuals’ decision.