Informed by goal congruity theory and emerging adulthood theory, this study examined changes over time and gender differences in the importance that college STEM majors placed on three life goals that have been hypothesized to explain the differential retention of men and women in STEM: Marriage-Family, Career-Status, and the desire to have a positive Social Impact. 251 students (n = 128, 51% women; n = 191, 76% White) completed three surveys, one year apart. Participants rated the importance of different life goals at each time point. Changes in importance ratings over time were moderated by gender. Men and women only differed in the importance placed on Marriage-Family goals at Time 1 and differences in Social Impact goals emerged at Time 3. Men’s ratings for Marriage-Family and Social Impact goals decreased over time, but women’s ratings did not significantly change. For both genders, ratings of Career-Status goals decreased over time. Secondary analyses suggest that gender differences in Marriage-Family and Social Impact goals emerge midway through college for STEM majors. Findings suggest that women who are retained in STEM majors place a high value on Marriage-Family and Social Impact goals, similar to non-STEM majors, but may be able to better visualize a future STEM career that affords these goals. Explanations for gender differences in STEM interest based on goal congruity theory should consider that the importance of different life goals may change over college.

在目标一致性理论和新兴成年理论的指导下，本研究检验了大学 STEM 专业对三个人生目标的重要性随时间的变化和性别差异，这些人生目标被假设用来解释 STEM 中男性和女性的不同保留：婚姻-家庭，职业状态，以及产生积极社会影响的愿望。251 名学生（n  = 128，51% 为女性；n = 191, 76% 白人）完成了三项调查，相隔一年。参与者在每个时间点评估不同生活目标的重要性。随着时间的推移，重要性评级的变化受性别影响。男性和女性仅在时间 1 对婚姻-家庭目标的重视程度有所不同，而在时间 3 则出现了社会影响目标的差异。男性对婚姻-家庭和社会影响目标的评分随着时间的推移而下降，但女性的评分没有显着变化。对于两种性别，职业状态目标的评分都随着时间的推移而下降。二次分析表明，在 STEM 专业的大学中途，婚姻家庭和社会影响目标的性别差异出现了。研究结果表明，与非 STEM 专业相似，留在 STEM 专业的女性高度重视婚姻家庭和社会影响目标，但也许能够更好地想象提供这些目标的未来 STEM 职业。基于目标一致性理论对 STEM 兴趣中性别差异的解释应考虑到不同人生目标的重要性可能会随着大学的变化而变化。