Mental stress at a young age – its relevance in the vocational orientation process

Development tasks and mental stress at a young age

Adolescence is a sensitive and also critical phase of life which places high demands on young people (cf. Schmocker et al. 2025). It is characterised by the need to cope with several development tasks at the same time. These include creating a sense of identity and autonomy, breaking free from the parental home and exploring every day and leisure spaces (cf. also Quenzel in this issue). Vocational orientation falls within this phase of life, too.

However, coping with these development tasks is increasingly taking place under conditions of mental stress. There has been a significant rise in psychological issues among young people in recent years. A considerable intensification occurred during the COVID pandemic in particular, after which prevalence did not return to pre-pandemic levels in many cases (cf. Kaman et al. 2025; Reiss et al. 2023). At the same time, young people’s living environments are being shaped by wars, the climate crisis, economic uncertainties, and processes of societal transformation. These are heightening their anxieties about the future and reinforcing their feelings of insecurity (cf. Hurrelmann 2025; Rattay et al. 2024).

Mental stress may be viewed as requirements and pressures that may negatively affect emotional experience, thought processes and behaviour. These factors become especially critical when individual resources for coping are insufficient. Limitations in everyday life may ensue if stress persists over a longer period (cf. Hurrelmann/Quenzel 2022).

Young people are increasingly faced with the challenge of having to cope with development and orientation tasks despite psychological strain. This includes having to make decisions about education and training routes as well as career pathways. In light of this, the question arises as to what extent mental stress may influence the development of vocational orientation competencies and what may be the ensuing consequences for the structuring of vocational orientation.

Vocational orientation as a resource-dependent development process

Development processes arise from the correlation between individual requirements, motivational resources and social contextual factors (cf. Baltes/Lindenberger/Staudinger 2006). The same applies to vocational orientation processes. As well as encompassing the development of skills and interests, such processes require a person to examine the available education and training and career options and to compare these with their own life plans. These process stages are, inter alia, dependent on aspects such as the individual resources which young people possess in order to address their occupational future.

Following the Thuringia Career Choice Model (ThüBOM), vocational orientation is now being perceived as a long-term competency development process rather than as a one-off decision. Young people explore their interests and abilities, investigate career options and form ideas about their future. These processes do not occur in a linear fashion. They proceed cyclically and also involve both the revisiting of past stages and reorientation (cf. Driesel-Lange et al. 2010a). Vocational orientation within the meaning of the ThüBOM embraces cognitive, motivational and action-related prerequisites which are designed to enable young people to shape their educational and career paths in an active way. The key dimensions of career choice competency incorporate self-knowledge, knowledge of the conditions governing the working environment, exploratory behaviour, decision-making skills and planning and management competencies (cf. Driesel-Lange et al. 2010a; Lipowski et al. 2015). Development of these competency dimensions is closely linked with expectations of self-efficacy. According to Bandura (1997), self-efficacy is a person’s subjective conviction that they are capable of meeting requirements on the basis of their own abilities and through their own actions. As far as vocational orientation processes are concerned, the idea is that young people should have the confidence to obtain information, to explore career opportunities, to handle feedback, to prepare for decisions and to be active in shaping the next steps. Self-efficacy therefore influences whether requirements are perceived subjectively as being manageable.

Mental pressures such as prolonged stress, feeling overwhelmed or repeated experiences of failure can lead young people to assess their self-efficacy as lower and to have less confidence in their ability to cope with the demands of a career. The consequence may be that exploratory activities are reduced and that decision-making and action-related processes are delayed or avoided. Hurrelmann/Quenzel (2022) describe self-efficacy, emotional regulation, the ability to deal with stress and problem-solving ability as key sub-aspects of mental health which assist with the processing of emotional and cognitive requirements and help people remain capable of taking action during periods of heightened uncertainty. Hurrelmann/Bauer (2021) state that mental health constitutes a central development-related resource. It encompasses the ability to cope with stress, to realise one’s own potential and to take a proactive approach to personal development, even under challenging conditions (cf. Hurrelmann/Bauer 2021; WHO 2022). From a resource-oriented perspective, mental health thus supports the development of competencies relevant to career choice. After all, it influences the extent to which young people are in a position to cope actively with orientation challenges, to maintain an exploratory approach and to deal constructively with uncertainties in decision-making processes. Psychological strain therefore has less of a direct effect on individual career choices and more of an impact on the upstream processes of orientation, action control and self-efficacy. With regard to the structuring of vocational orientation, this gives rise to the task of recognising psychological strain as a relevant influencing factor and of taking it into account in a more targeted manner within orientation processes supported by education and training professionals.

BeSOS – a resource-oriented and prevention-related practical example

Even if mental health may be compromised as a resource at times when young people are experiencing psychological strain, systematically strengthening the sub-aspects of emotional regulation, stress management and self-efficacy can help support the ability of young people suffering psychological stress to take action during vocational orientation processes. When designing vocational orientation measures, this means perceiving and being aware of individual psychological strain at an early stage and tailoring support services in a way that takes due account of emotional and motivational factors (cf. Wopat et al. 2026). Low threshold regulation tools (see below) can help to reduce feelings of being overwhelmed and to conduct the vocational orientation process, even in stressful life situations (cf. Wopat et al. 2026).

These sub-aspects form the main focus of the “BeSOS” project. The aim is to develop and pilot a set of guidance instruments to strengthen or restore the vocational orientation ability of pupils under mental stress (cf. Information box). The intention is for this set of instruments to be deployed at secondary and upper secondary schools across Saxony and for it to be available to teaching and guidance staff fulfilling tasks within the scope of vocational orientation. The development work builds on the findings which have emerged from the flagship project “Quickstart Sachsen+” (cf. Information box).

The creation of safe spaces for relationships in which young people experiencing mental health difficulties can find assurance, and guidance is key to the vocational orientation process. BeSOS uses this as a foundation to foster self-awareness, self-regulation, self-efficacy and a sense of trust in relationships. The objective is for pupils to perceive and identify signs of strain at an early stage and to be able to manage these by using low-threshold techniques, for example in the case of acute stress reactions, feelings of shame or fear of failure.

The regulation tools include methods for perceiving strain, breathing techniques, body-based regulation exercises, mental techniques and positive self-affirmation (cf. Wopat et al. 2026). Young people are able to experience a positive cascade effect by deploying relevant techniques (cf. the reference to the BeSOS toolbox at the end of the article). They discover that they are able to regulate stress responses themselves – responses which they have generally, up to that point, regarded as being beyond their control. With educational support, the experience of being able to influence their own stress responses can be harnessed as a powerful experience of self-efficacy. Stress reduction also makes existing resources for learning and orientation processes more accessible again (cf. Wopat et al. 2026).

Consequence – educational support processes must take psychological strains into account

Psychological strains may impair motivational, emotional and self-regulatory resources and thus make exploration, planning and decision-making in the vocational orientation process more difficult. This article points out that psychological strain influences individual career choices less directly than the processes that precede it. With regard to the structuring of vocational orientation, this means that systematic consideration must be given to psychological strain within the scope of educational support processes. Vocational orientation provision can be particularly effective if it facilitates reliable relationships, promotes self-efficacy, provides spaces for reflection, and helps to structure orientation and decision-making processes (cf. DRIESEL-LANGE et al. 2010b).

Low-threshold and flexible formats and the strengthening of sub-aspects of mental health such as emotional regulation, the ability to deal with stress, and self-efficacy can also help to reduce the sense of being overwhelmed and to maintain vocational orientation even under challenging conditions. Hence, this means that an institutional framework is required in order to facilitate such resource-oriented structuring of vocational orientation. This particularly includes sufficient time for relationship work and individual assistance, advanced training provision for education and training professionals, binding cooperation structures which feature both school- and non-school-based support and guidance programmes, as well as organisational flexibility for low-threshold and flexible support formats. Raising awareness of the relevant conditions among education and training professionals and providing them with tools to help young people develop emotional regulation, stress management and a sense of self-efficacy are also of paramount importance. Specialist therapeutic knowledge is not as crucial as the ability to recognise situations of psychological strain, assess such circumstances appropriately and deal with them professionally. This also involves recognising the limits of one’s own responsibility and referring young people to suitable support services when necessary.

Kristina Wopat
Dr., Director of the Graduate and Research Academy (GraFA) at TU Bergakademie Freiberg and Project Manager of BeSOS

Anna Hetzinger
Research fellow at BIBB 

Susanne Schemmer
Research fellow at BIBB

Translation from the German original (published in BWP 3/2026): Martin Kelsey, GST GlobalSprachTeam ‒ Sassenberg e.K., Berlin