Parents contribute a great deal to their children’s career development. Despite the central importance of the self-concept to career development, little research has examined the role played by parental engagement in the link between the child’s self-concept and career development. Integrating self-verification and career construction theories, we develop and test the prediction that parental engagement indirectly contributes to career adaptability and career persistence by serving as a tacit signal of the child’s positive worth. Using a time-lagged survey design, we tested the proposed moderated mediation model in a sample of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) university students. The results show full support for the hypothesized model. Consistent with self-verification theory, STEM students’ self-esteem was only associated with subsequent career adaptability and career persistence if they also perceived high levels of parental engagement. This result held despite statistically controlling for parent-reported parental engagement. We discuss implications for career development, STEM career persistence, and career counseling.
Perceived employability has been found to be related to the career development and well-being of both working adults and university students. In a first initiative to examine perceived employability among nonlocal Chinese university students, we collected data from a sample of 246 graduating students who had come from Mainland China to study in Hong Kong. After controlling for demographic variables and migration intentions, we found that perceived employability was explained by career exploration, relational support, acculturative hassles, and the assimilation strategy of acculturation. Career exploration was also found to mediate the relationship between the assimilation strategy of acculturation and perceived employability. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory building and career guidance practices regarding the perceived employability and career guidance of nonlocal and international Chinese students.
The Career Decision-Making Profile (CDMP) was developed by Gati and colleagues in 2010 as an attempt to reliably measure which strategies individuals apply when making career decisions. In order to provide counseling and coaching professionals with a German version of the scale, we translated and validated the German version (G-CDMP) in two studies (total N = 622). Results of Study 1 verified the proposed 12-factor structure by means of confirmatory factor analyses, confirming that the G-CDMP assesses 12 distinct career decision-making strategies. Results of Study 2 demonstrated the G-CDMP’s construct validity on subscale level by relating it to self-evaluations (e.g., occupational self-efficacy) and personality (i.e., the Big Five) as well as to career-related constructs, such as career adaptability and cognitive reactions toward career-life decisions (e.g., life satisfaction). As the studies provide support for the G-CDMP’s factor structure and its construct validity, implications for its use during career counseling are discussed.
Much attention has been paid to explaining the gender disparity in engineering. While significant research examines barriers to professional entry and retention among female engineers, there is a surprising lack of research on the nature of women’s career paths within the profession. In a sample of 274 industry engineers from multiple engineering subfields and firms, we examined the relationship between gender and career path and tested the implications of career path choice for five outcomes consequential to engineers’ experience of their profession and work. We also tested for gender differences in the effects of career path on these outcomes. Our findings show gendered career paths in engineering firms and suggest that some career paths may put women (but not men) at greater risk of professional attrition. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
This research investigated the latent structure and full measurement invariance of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) in three independent samples of social occupations for the first time, namely, preservice teachers (n = 344), retail workers (n = 394), and mothers (n = 160). Convergent and divergent validity of the CAAS data was tested against scores on the Career Adaptability Scale of the Career Futures Inventory (CA-CFI) using a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) framework. The criterion validity of the CAAS scores with respect to data on self-efficacy and satisfaction with life was also investigated. The results support the multidimensional, hierarchical latent structure of the CAAS data. The invariance of the retained structure across the distinct samples as well as support for convergent, divergent, and test-criterion validity further attests the suitability and wide applicability of the CAAS as a measure of career adaptability.
The twofold aim of this study was first to extend results on the career choice model previously obtained with students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to gauge the relevance of including self-efficacy for coping with barriers in this model. The second aim was to examine whether examined paths varied according to gender. We investigated the paths between social support, barriers, barrier-coping efficacy, and goals in a sample of 215 students drawn from disciplines where men are underrepresented. In line with the hypothetical model, results revealed significant paths between social support, barriers, barrier-coping efficacy, and goals. Moreover, these paths did not vary according to gender. Results are discussed with reference to the literature and in terms of their practical implications.
Researchers in the career domain have embraced the concept of career adaptability as denoted by a rapid growth in the number of published articles in recent years. Career adaptability is a psychosocial construct including both readiness and resources for successfully facing vocational tasks, occupational transitions, and unexpected challenges. To synthesize the research in this field and to suggest directions for future development, this article systematically reviews the studies on career adaptability. The 116 published pieces covered in the review include book chapters and articles, including cross-sectional, longitudinal, and qualitative papers, along with intervention studies, and theoretical contributions. First, the different instruments available to measure career adaptability are presented, after which the research is reviewed in the categories of adaptability resources and adapting responses. Both resources and responses contribute to positive transitions and personal functioning in teenagers through to adults. The article concludes by offering several suggestions for future research, highlighting the theoretical, practical, empirical, and methodological contributions that future work in this domain could make.
The Negative Outcome Expectations Scale in Engineering (NOES-E) is a 21-item measure that was developed to assess anticipated negative outcomes related to pursuing engineering. Using two samples of engineering students, exploratory (n = 256) and confirmatory (n = 1,187) factor analyses supported a four-factor model of the NOES-E. The four factors included cultural-related stressors, personal life and work balance, job characteristics, and social costs. The results suggested that the 21-item NOES-E demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .94) and construct validity by a positive correlation with a measure of engineering environmental barriers and negative correlations with measures of engineering academic satisfaction, self-efficacy, environmental supports, intended persistence, and positive outcome expectations. There was nonsignificant relation between NOES-E scores and future family consideration. Also, we found that women and transgender students reported higher negative outcome expectations in engineering than men. However, there were no significant group differences across race/ethnicity. Implications for practice, theory, and future vocational research in engineering are discussed.
The job characteristics model (JCM) predicts that task significance and work meaningfulness are related to greater job performance and that meaningfulness mediates the relation between task significance and job performance. However, these propositions have received limited attention, especially when linking meaningful work to job performance. Therefore, we tested claims from the JCM with a large, diverse sample of working adults using structural equation modeling. Results revealed that self-reported performance was significantly related to both meaningful work and task significance. Moreover, meaningful work fully mediated the relation between task significance and two measures of self-reported job performance. Limitations and implications for further research are discussed.
Self-determination theory (SDT) was used to model the relations between environmental supports (i.e., administrative, departmental, personal and family) and well-being (i.e., teaching/service and global satisfaction) in 96 full-time non-tenure-track (NTT) faculty members, a growing population that has been underrepresented in the psychological and educational literature. Perceived relatedness and volitional autonomy were hypothesized to mediate the relations between the environmental supports and NTT faculty well-being. Results of path analysis indicated no significant direct effects for the environmental supports or volitional autonomy on well-being; perceived relatedness displayed significant direct effects on both indices of well-being. A bootstrap procedure yielded significant indirect effects for all environmental supports on well-being via perceived relatedness; administrative support displayed a marginally significant indirect effect via volitional autonomy. Results are discussed in terms of SDT and faculty well-being, and future directions for research are provided.
Despite social cognitive and cultural barriers, women continue to consider and declare science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors. Research suggests that both self-efficacy and interest are necessary to approach a career goal; however, women in STEM report lower interest and confidence compared to their male counterparts. Using integrative career profiles of 448 potential and declared STEM majors, we investigated Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional thresholds of self-efficacy and interest among women and men using the career and personality assessments integrative online system. Results indicated gender as a moderator for the Realistic threshold, where women have a lower threshold for approaching and declaring a STEM major compared with men. Women in this sample showed similar levels of Investigative self-efficacy and interests compared with men. This study adds to prior literature investigating people–thing orientations among men and women in STEM. These results may be utilized in broadening female participation in STEM and alleviating underrepresentation.
Using character strengths at work has been associated with desirable feelings, attitudes, and functioning. However, factors promoting strengths use at work have rarely been studied. In the present study, we focused on social support, a key contributor to employees’ functioning and well-being, and examined the effects of supervisor and colleague support on employees’ strengths use. Participants (N = 120) completed daily measures of their supervisors’ and colleagues’ support, and their use of strengths at work, over 10 workdays. Results indicated that supervisor support (but not colleague support) on a given day predicted increased strengths use on the following day. These results point to the potentially unique role of supervisors (and not colleagues) in promoting employees’ fulfillment of their potential at work and call for examination of strengths use as a mechanism underlying desirable effects of supervisor support on employees’ attitudes and behaviors.
The present study examined the cross-cultural validity of instruments used to assess the experience of searching for, having, and living out a calling. Using a sample of 336 Americans and 327 Indians, we used structural equation modeling to assess measurement invariance of three common scales used to measure calling: the Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ), the Brief Calling Scale, and the Living Calling Scale. Results showed partial measurement equivalence for the presence scale of the CVQ, indicating that it may be a valid measurement of within-group differences among Indian participants. Analyses on remaining scales showed borderline support for equivalence of factor structure and failed to demonstrate validity of cross-cultural comparisons. Implications for researchers and clinical practitioners are discussed.
This study examined negative stereotypes of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals as predictors of math/science interests and career goals in a sample of high school students. In a scale development study, results of an exploratory factor analysis (N = 341) indicated a single-factor structure best represented items for the Math and Science Stigma (MASS) Scale—a measure of negative stereotypes of STEM professionals. In a follow-up study, structural equation modeling was used to confirm the factor structure of the MASS. Further analyses showed that a model with STEM stereotypes depicted as a proximal contextual barrier to math/science career interests and goals fit the data well. STEM stereotypes were a significant predictor of math/science self-efficacy, math/science self-efficacy was a significant predictor of math/science interests, and interests predicted math/science career goals. The relationship between STEM stereotypes and math/science interests was explained by self-efficacy. Results are discussed in terms of decreasing negative stereotypes of STEM professionals and enhancing high school students’ interests in STEM careers.
While career decision ambiguity tolerance (CDAT) has been repeatedly shown to play a salient role in career decision-making, a potential revision of its measurement model has been indicated in past research. More importantly, it remains less clear as to what individual characteristics are associated with high CDAT. We examined a four-factor model of CDAT (i.e., preference, tolerance, confidence, and aversion) and its associations with adherence to the realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprise, and conventional (RIASEC) structure and career calling in a sample of college students (N = 248). The results of the current study supported the four-factor model being superior to the original three-factor model in representing the structure of CDAT. It was also found that adherence to the RIASEC structure was positively associated with preference, presence of calling was positively associated with confidence, and search for calling was positively associated with aversion. The implications of the results were discussed with respect to the theory and research of CDAT. Limitations and suggestions for future research were also provided.
Entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) seems to play a key role in the entrepreneurial career choice. The main goal of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of the ESE Scale proposed by McGee, Peterson, Mueller, and Sequeira both in Italy and Portugal. In particular, this study aims to strengthen and extend previous evidence of the Italian version of the ESE Scale and to assess its psychometric properties in Portugal. Furthermore, it aims at investigating the differences between two groups of participants both in Italy and Portugal: entrepreneurs and students. Construct, convergent, and discriminant validity of the ESE Scale were assessed through confirmatory factorial analysis and multigroups confirmatory factorial analysis using structural equation modeling. Configural, full metric, and partial scalar invariance were achieved. Moreover, correlational analysis, reliability analysis, and one-way analysis of variance were conducted. The findings support the use of the ESE Scale in Italy and Portugal for research and practical purposes. Limitation and suggestion for further research are also discussed.
Job loss and recovery remain critical challenges in the United States and Europe in the wake of the Great Recession. However, the experience of unemployment is poorly integrated in theories of vocational psychology. In this article, we explore how job loss and recovery can be understood through the lens of social cognitive career theory’s career self-management (SCCT-CSM) model. We apply the SCCT-CSM model to understand the critical importance of person-cognitive variables, individual differences, and contextual affordances to the experiences of job loss and job recovery. Implications for future research, including research with particular groups of unemployed persons, are discussed. Overall, our analysis indicates that the SCCT-CSM model is a fruitful perspective for organizing future scholarship related to job loss and recovery.
This study examined the relationship between parental support, engineering-related (realistic/investigative themed) learning experiences, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and persistence intentions in a sample of first-generation college student (FGCS) engineering majors (N = 130). Parental support was assessed at the conclusion of an academic year and modeled as a predictor of other engineering-related variables assessed a year later using the social cognitive career theory framework. Results showed that parental support predicted realistic/investigative-themed verbal persuasion and vicarious learning, while realistic/investigative-themed performance accomplishments and physiological arousal predicted engineering self-efficacy. Realistic/investigative performance accomplishments also predicted outcome expectations. Self-efficacy and outcome expectations were predictors of engineering persistence intentions. Contrary to expectations, self-efficacy did not significantly predict outcome expectations. Mediation analyses revealed that the relationships of realistic/investigative-themed performance accomplishments and physiological arousal to persistence intentions were explained by self-efficacy. Results are discussed in terms of increasing retention of FGCS in engineering.
Since its introduction in 1994, social cognitive career theory (SCCT) has attracted attention from researchers and practitioners in the United States and other countries. This article provides a review of selected research performed outside the United States regarding SCCT’s interest, choice, performance, and satisfaction models. Results of a database search identified 37 studies, which contained 41 independent samples from 21 countries and were published in the English language. The majority of these studies were conducted in Asian (e.g., China and Taiwan) and European (e.g., Portugal, Germany, and Italy) countries and tested the interest/choice and satisfaction models in adolescent and college student samples who were enrolled in courses or majors related to the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM; or Holland’s Investigative and Realistic themes). Existing international SCCT research offers robust evidence for the mediating role of self-efficacy, but less consistent support for that of outcome expectations, in the relations of proximal contextual factors to outcomes of interest, choice goals or goal progress, and academic or job satisfaction. Additionally, this review provides preliminary evidence for mastery experience and physiological state as two key sources of efficacy beliefs and for the effects of personality traits (e.g., positive affect and emotional stability) on academic or job satisfaction. Results of a recent meta-analysis are also summarized to offer an empirical synthesis of international SCCT research testing the choice model. Based on this review, directions for future international SCCT research are highlighted, and suggestions for career counseling are discussed.
The authors review research that has used social cognitive career theory as a frame to investigate factors that may explain science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) choices and work decisions for women and racial–ethnic minorities, as well as barriers to their entry to STEM careers. The research is reviewed by age-groups. Most of this research has focused on factors associated with early choices (e.g., in high school and younger), but more recent work has focused on choices in college and in the workplace, particularly for women. The authors conclude with a critique and call for more research.
The purpose of the present study is to extend the literature on social cognitive career theory (SCCT) by examining (a) the applicability of SCCT for African Americans with constructs defined in terms of Holland’s realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional (RIASEC) themes and (b) the role of specific learning experiences (performance accomplishments, vicarious learning, and verbal persuasion) in the formation of corresponding self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results based on a sample of 208 African American college students revealed support for hypothesized relations of self-efficacy with outcome expectations, self-efficacy and outcome expectations with interests and choice goals, and interests with choice goals for all six RIASEC themes. Results revealed partial support for the hypothesized relations of learning experiences with self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Finally, results indicated limited support for the hypothesis that verbal persuasion would be a stronger positive predictor of self-efficacy and outcome expectations than would performance accomplishments and vicarious learning. These findings offer preliminary support for the applicability of SCCT in explaining African American college students’ RIASEC-based interest development and career choice goals. Implications of the findings for career counseling interventions and future research are discussed.
This article provides an overview of 47 empirical studies of social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and recent SCCT-based models with a focus on social class and socioeconomic status (SES). We summarize the findings across the studies according to (1) the use of social class or SES as a study variable and (2) low-SES samples based on demographic data. We provide an assessment of the current state of SCCT research on social class and offer directions for advancing SCCT theory and research with attention to how social class can be conceptualized and operationalized within SCCT.
Lent and Brown proposed a social cognitive career self-management process model that extended prior social cognitive career theory (SCCT) content models to explain the conditions under which people will engage in career management behaviors (e.g., career exploration). We tested the SCCT self-management model in the context of workplace sexual identity management. The model hypothesizes that engagement in sexual identity management strategies in the workplace is facilitated by strong sexual identity management self-efficacy beliefs and positive outcome expectations for engaging in sexual identity management behaviors. The model also posits that additional person and contextual variables will influence engagement in sexual identity management behaviors directly as well as indirectly via self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations. Using a sample of 152 sexual minority participants drawn from community Internet mailing lists, partial and full mediation models of workplace sexual identity disclosure were tested using theoretically relevant person input (i.e., concealment motivation) and contextual (i.e., workplace climate) variables. Results supported a partially mediated model suggesting that concealment motivation and workplace climate influence workplace disclosure directly as well as indirectly through self-efficacy and positive outcome expectations. Policy and social justice implications for the results are discussed and future research directions are considered.
Lent and Brown presented a social cognitive career theory (SCCT) self-management process model aimed at understanding how and under what conditions individuals will navigate adaptive career behaviors. The current study tested the self-management model as applied to young peoples’ anticipated multiple role balance intentions, hypothesizing that self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations for balancing multiple life roles would predict intentions to balance multiple life roles. Given that multiple role balancing behaviors require good self-organization capacities, trait conscientiousness was incorporated into the model as a potential person input variable. Gender was also included as a person input. The best fitting model suggested that, consistent with SCCT hypotheses, self-efficacy beliefs related to role balance intentions. Outcome expectation’s relationship to intentions was smaller and did not reach statistical significance. The relation of conscientiousness to intentions was fully mediated by self-efficacy. Gender showed only a direct relation to intentions, suggesting that women have stronger intentions to balance multiple roles than do men, apart from their feelings of confidence and expected outcomes. These results suggest that interventions designed to aid multiple role balance in young women and men may usefully target their self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations for multiple role management.
In this study, we tested a modified academic satisfaction model based on social cognitive career theory in a sample of 757 college students in China. The hypothesized model included personality traits (extraversion and emotional stability), self-construals (independence and interdependence), environmental and person-cognitive variables (supports, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and perceived goal progress) in the academic domain, and academic and global well-being outcomes. Pathways that consisted of academic supports, self-efficacy, and goal progress partially mediated the effects of personality traits and self-construals on academic satisfaction and/or stress, which were, in turn, predictive of life satisfaction. Although Chinese students perceived outcomes of completing a college degree as favorable, such outcome expectations did not predict progress made in the academic domain. Multigroup analyses showed that the modified academic satisfaction model was applicable to both male and female college students in two major metropolitan areas—Chongqing in Southwest China and Shanghai in East China. With evidence for measurement equivalence, full structural equivalence was present by gender, whereas two of the hypothesized paths differed by location. Results of the study suggest that outreach or intervention programs, which involve gathering supports, boosting self-efficacy, and facilitating goal progress in the academic domain, are particularly beneficial for promoting the well-being of Chinese college students.
The social cognitive model of well-being was tested in a sample of 373 college students in Spain. Participants completed measures of academic self-efficacy, environmental support, goal progress, academic satisfaction and stress, trait positive affect, and overall life satisfaction. A path analysis indicated that the model fit the data well and accounted for substantial portions of the variance in academic domain satisfaction, academic stress, and life satisfaction, though a few path coefficients (e.g., from positive affect and environmental support to academic stress) were nonsignificant. We consider the findings in relation to prior tests of the well-being model and discuss implications for practice and future research.
This study aimed to challenge the "uniformity myth" in career counseling outcome studies—that is, a tendency toward studying career counseling clients as homogenous, implicitly assuming that the same outcomes would be beneficial to all clients. To this end, we examined the role of clients’ initial career counseling goals. We hypothesized that a client’s career counseling goals would affect (1) which outcomes the client is likely to attain through career counseling and (2) which outcomes he or she would most benefit from (in terms of improved well-being). Hypotheses were tested using data from a three-wave study with Flemish adult career counseling clients. We included six potential career counseling goals and corresponding outcomes: (1) increasing self-awareness, (2) increasing opportunity awareness, (3) making a career decision, (4) finding a new job, (5) improving work–family balance, and (6) improving work relationships. We found that clients were more likely to attain outcomes that matched their initial career counseling goals and less likely to attain other outcomes. In addition, goal attainment (i.e., the attainment of outcomes that match a client’s initial goals)—but not nongoal attainment (i.e., the attainment of outcomes that do not correspond to a client’s initial goals)—related to clients’ subsequent career and life satisfaction. Implications for career counseling research and practice are discussed.
From the earliest days of the vocational guidance movement, controversy existed regarding the place of self-report in assessment. Contemporary career theories, cognitive information processing theory (CIP), and Holland’s typological theory (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional [RIASEC]) provide ideas and tools for informing this issue. CIP theory includes self-help among three levels of career service delivery. Readiness screening including in both theories is the mechanism for determining which individuals can benefit from differentiated services, for example, self-help, brief staff assisted, and individual case managed. This article shows how these theories can be used in career assessment and describes tools and procedures for service delivery. A narrative flowchart illustrates how a practitioner would work with individuals in this enhanced self-help approach.
The PIC model by Gati and Asher describes three career decision making stages: pre-screening, in-depth exploration, and choice of career options. We consider the role that three different forms of support (general career support by parents, emotional/instrumental support, and informational support) may play for young adults in each of these three decision-making stages. The authors further propose that different forms of support may predict career agency and occupational engagement, which are important career decision precedents. In addition, we consider the role of personality traits and perceptions (decision-making window) on these two outcomes. Using an online survey sample (N = 281), we found that general career support was important for career agency and occupational engagement. However, it was the combination of higher general career support with either emotional/instrumental support or informational support that was found to lead to both greater career agency and higher occupational engagement. Personality also played a role: Greater proactivity also led to greater occupational engagement, even when there was little urgency for participants to make decisions (window of decision-making was wide open and not restricted). In practical terms, the findings suggest that the learning required in each of the three PIC processes (pre-screening, in-depth exploration, choice of career options) may benefit when the learner has access to the three support measures.
In the Swiss education system, approximately 55% of adolescents are required to make their first vocational choice at the end of mandatory school. This can induce transitory or long-lasting career indecision that is recognized as being influenced by personal and contextual factors. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationships between career decision-making difficulties and the five-factor model of personality traits, parental support, and self-esteem in 448 Grade 9 Swiss adolescents. We then proceeded to test if these relationships vary according to the adolescent’s educational choice (i.e., whether they attend high school or if they choose an apprenticeship or vocational training). Results have highlighted the importance of neuroticism, conscientiousness, and parental support to predict career decision-making difficulties. Moreover, parental support mediated the relationships between extraversion and agreeableness (fully) and between conscientiousness (partially) and career decision-making difficulties. Finally, the educational choice had no impact on the overall pattern of relationships. Implications for career counselor practices were further discussed.
In an attempt to better understand how a negative reputation may affect one’s career, a series of hypotheses which offer an overview of negative personal reputation are tested, utilizing both a lab and a field study. Based upon the existing theory, these hypotheses explore negative reputation in the context of employees in organizations, suggesting that although often negative reputations are undesirable, at times individuals may be motivated to develop such reputations because they may confer benefits to one’s career.
This study explored the measurement equivalence of the Career Indecision Profile (CIP) in a Chinese sample with both U.S. and South Korean samples. Past measurement invariance research on the CIP in four international samples (Icelandic young adults, Italian adolescents, French-speaking young adults, and South Korean adolescents) has supported a four-factor structure in the U.S. and in the three Western samples but not in the South Korean sample. Rather, a five-factor structure emerged in South Korea. This study sought to identify whether either the four- or five-factor structure would demonstrate suitable fit for a Chinese adolescent sample. Results indicated that the four-factor structure developed in the United States did not replicate in China, but the five-factor structure found in South Korea showed adequate fit. Additional analysis suggested full metric invariance on all five scales and scalar invariance on four of the five scales. These findings extend the past measurement invariance work with the CIP to suggest two potential ways with which to understand career indecision: a four-factor structure in Western cultures and a five-factor model in Eastern cultures. Future research needs are discussed.
Understanding the degree to which students’ interests and achievement fit with educational environmental rewards and requirements can help universities retain students, while assisting students in finding fulfilling academic majors and careers. We examined the effect of various interest-major congruence indices and American College Testing (ACT) achievement indicators on biology and chemistry students’ success and retention using archival university data from a Historically Black College/University. Results indicated that the specific congruence index utilized alters the statistical impact of achievement indicators on retention and success. Additionally, while the predictors of success and retention differed between biology and chemistry majors, math and English ACT scores impacted success and retention for both biology and chemistry majors, highlighting the utility of assessing skill areas beyond math for students majoring in both biology and chemistry. Career counselors and advisors should consider students’ majors and the utility of exploration tools when providing guidance to college students.
Social cognitive career theory posits that proximal contextual support variables exert both direct and indirect effects on individuals’ career choice intentions. The purpose of this study was to test this proposition by examining the hierarchical structure of efficacy beliefs and their relations to students’ intentions to pursue careers in science. Data were collected from a sample of undergraduate students (N = 1,693) recruited from biology, chemistry, and physics courses. Results of multilevel modeling analyses indicated that aggregated peer science self-efficacy (PSSE) perceptions in the classroom were positively predictive of science career intentions (SCIs) while holding constant the Level 1 influence of science self-efficacy. Moreover, science interest was shown to mediate the relationship between PSSE and SCIs. Implications for career development research and practice are discussed.
This study set to provide an age- and culturally-appropriate measure of career calling for Korean young adults. We conducted a literature review and identified a suitable, 15-item Career Calling Scale for Emerging Adults. We translated all items into Korean, back-translated into English, and verified for accuracy. An exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors reflecting those of the original scale (other-oriented meaning, active engagement, and personal meaning; Stage 1; N = 152), and a confirmatory factor analysis supported that these loaded on a higher order factor of career calling (Stage 2; N = 260). The scale showed good internal consistency, and scale validity was supported by finding positive correlations with well-being and a second measure of career calling and a negative correlation with career indecision. The findings support our argument that career calling, viewed as a salient and meaningful career goal, is a relevant concept for Korean young adults.
Previous research has indicated robust relationships between implicit motives and various indices of career preference and performance, with the implicit need for power (nPow) and the implicit need for achievement (nAch) found to associate with leadership and entrepreneurship, respectively. However, relatively little work has examined the relationships between implicit motivation and career intention. In the present study, 149 university students completed questionnaires assessing their intention to embark on entrepreneurial, professional, or leadership careers, while implicit motivation was measured using the picture story exercise. nPow was found to positively predict entrepreneurial intent and to negatively predict professional intent, while higher nPow was positively associated with both entrepreneurial and leadership career choice. nAch did not associate significantly with any of the intent or choice measures. These results tentatively suggest a previously undocumented relationship between nPow and entrepreneurial ambition, and possible differences in the motivational profiles of aspiring and actual entrepreneurs.
In recent years, the constructs of work meaning and work meaningfulness have been differentiated, and multidimensional measures of the latter have been developed. In the present study, we administered one such measure—the Comprehensive Meaningful Work Scale (CMWS)—to a gender-balanced and age-diverse sample of managers and conducted a multivariate analysis of CMWS scores that explored the contributions of participants’ gender and their adult career stage. As hypothesized, the CMWS subscale scores were negatively correlated with participants’ scores on an independent measure of work stress. Results also revealed a significant multivariate effect associated with their career stage that was limited to one CMWS subscale (i.e., "balancing tensions"), with managers in their "prime work years" (i.e., 40–54) evidencing less favorable scores than those in either the "settling in" (i.e., 25–39) or "approaching retirement" (i.e., 55–65) stages. The implications of these findings for future research on work meaningfulness are discussed.
We tested a predictive model based on self-determination theory (SDT) to demonstrate how job design choices contribute to subjective career success. Data collected at Time 1 demonstrated that the job characteristics of autonomy support and competence support had direct and interactive effects on employees’ need satisfaction. Need satisfaction at Time 1 mediated the relationship between autonomy support and self-determined work motivation at Time 2. Work motivation, in turn, mediated the relationships between need fulfillment and career attitudes that characterize subjective career success. These findings are theoretically important because they demonstrate that SDT can bridge job design theory and career theory, pointing to new ways that job and career experiences are interrelated. From a practical standpoint, the results are valuable because they show that job enrichment efforts guided by SDT have important implications for promoting career success perceptions and vocational retention among experienced workers.
Since the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal and state governments have played a significant role in the employment of individuals with disabilities. In the present study, one aspect of that relationship was analyzed—individuals with disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation (VR) services to become self-employed. The authors utilized a two-level hierarchical generalized linear modeling to analyze national data from the Rehabilitation Services Administration for fiscal years 2008–2012. Among several significant (p < .001) predictors of successful VR self-employment case closure across the years, ethnicity had the largest effect, followed by gender. Although the findings from this study build on those from a previous study, conclusions about the predictors are tentative. Nevertheless, the findings add to a sparse literature on VR self-employment of individuals with disabilities, and the authors discuss the study’s implications for researchers and VR and provide suggestions for further research.
This study presents a new scale to measure work values. The Work Values questionnaire (WVal) consists of 10 sets of 5 value items that respondents rank for importance. Each item expresses 1 of the 10 basic values of the Schwartz theory in the work context. Seven hundred fifty-nine employees from 94 organizations responded to the WVal. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) assessment of the 10 work values exhibited adequate factorial distinctiveness as well as high internal reliability. Multidimensional scaling analyses yielded a circular motivational structure of relations among the 10 work values similar to the higher order values in the basic values’ theory. We note and discuss meaningful differences in the importance of work values associated with gender, age, organizational tenure, and professional role. The study supports the applicability of the Schwartz basic value theory to the organizational setting, with some variations traceable to the work context. We discuss research possibilities and practical applications of the WVal.
This article reports the development and psychometric requisites of Design My Future, an instrument assessing future orientation and resilience. Three different studies involving Italian preadolescents were conducted. With the first, the items were developed and the factor structure verified; the second confirmed instrument’s multidimensional structure and evaluated its discriminant validity. The third study was conducted to verify the invariance of factorial structure across gender. Results provide strong psychometric support for Design My Future as a valid measure for analyzing middle school students’ thoughts about their future orientation and resilience and for career education and career counseling activities.
Many of the Holland-based interest assessments differ in the number of answer options they present to clients, with some providing clients more sensitivity with which they can indicate their level of interest. Following anecdotal client comments, a study was developed to determine whether significant changes in inventory results occurred based on the number of answer options presented, while test items remain consistent. Two versions of the Self-Directed Search (SDS)–Fifth Edition were presented to 553 participants across two subsamples (312 Mechanical Turk and 241 college students). The published version of the SDS that presents clients with two response options was used as well as an altered version presenting clients with five-answer options. The internal consistency and profile stability across versions were explored. Statistically significant differences in internal consistency were found. Moderate-to-high profile stability for individuals and across test versions was detected. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
The goal of the present research was to test the convergent and divergent validity of the Strategies for Coping with Career Indecision (SCCI) model and questionnaire, which comprises three main coping styles—Productive coping, Support-seeking, and Nonproductive coping—using three samples of young adults deliberating about their career choice. Study 1 tested the association between the SCCI and career decision-making profiles, using a sample of 390 young adults. Study 2 tested the relations between the SCCI and emotional and personality-related career decision-making difficulties, using a sample of 454 young adults. Finally, Study 3 tested the associations between the SCCI and career decision self-efficacy as well as the five dimensions of the Big Five Inventory, using a sample of 451 young adults. All three studies also tested the SCCI’s incremental validity by assessing its ability to predict individuals’ stages in the career decision-making process over and above the other measures. The results supported the convergent and divergent validity and partially supported the incremental validity of the SCCI. The theoretical and counseling implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.
As the importance of social justice advocacy is increasingly emphasized in vocational psychology, it is imperative for researchers to explore the development of individuals’ interest in and commitment to social justice work. With a diverse sample of 298 undergraduate students, this study sought to replicate findings from Miller et al. which supported the use of social cognitive career theory in predicting social justice interest and commitment from social justice self-efficacy and outcome expectations. In addition, person inputs related to a focus on others were examined as predictors of social justice variables. Specifically, we explored whether collectivistic values and a calling orientation toward work predicted social justice outcomes. Results demonstrated replicability of Miller et al.’s model. Additionally, collectivism and sense of calling were each found to directly and indirectly predict social justice variables. Findings indicate that extent to which individuals endorse collectivism and a sense of calling may be useful in predicting how committed they are to social justice work.
This study investigated the relationship of perceived financial stress and strain within the family with work hope beliefs among 119 adolescents in the United States. As expected, higher levels of perceived financial stress and strain related to lowered work hope. Using a test of moderation, we explored how this relationship was influenced by adolescents’ perceptions of support for educational success from their primary caregiver. Results indicated that caregiver support for educational success moderated the relationship between perceived financial stress and strain and work hope such that the negative relationship between financial stress and strain was strengthened among those who reported heightened perceived caregiver support for educational success. Limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.
Career adaptability is an important characteristic that helps individuals deal effectively with career uncertainty and ambiguous job roles in current times. Based on the career construction theory, we hypothesize that conscientiousness, cognitive flexibility, and environmental exploration are positively related to career adaptability, and career adaptability is in turn positively related to strategic career management. We collected data from 307 undergraduates with work experience to test our hypothesized model. The results generally supported our hypotheses. Our research sheds light on how conscientiousness, cognitive flexibility, and environmental exploration are related to strategic career management indirectly through career adaptability. Our findings offer practical advice for vocational scholars and career counselors on how career adaptability may be developed.
The present study examined the relationships between vocational interests, personal styles, and subjective well-being (SWB) using the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) among 4,945 working adults across eight occupational samples, including administrative assistant, realtor, elementary schoolteacher, sales manager, graphic designer, attorney, automobile mechanic, and a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics field composite. Regression analyses demonstrated that the General Occupational Themes (GOTs) and Personal Style Scales (PSSs) each explained significant and independent variance in SWB. Occupation-specific hypotheses for GOTs and PSSs were also supported for four of the eight occupations. This study enhances the understanding of the contribution of interests to life satisfaction and provides further validation for the 2005 SII, specifically the newest PSS, Team Orientation. Future research, theory, and practice implications are also discussed.
This study examined the mediating role of person–environment (P-E) fit in the relationships of perceived social support (PSS) with perceived employability and career decision self-efficacy (CDSE). The moderating role of gender was also tested in the PSS and P-E fit relationship and in the P-E fit mediated relationships of PSS with perceived employability and CDSE. Seven hundred and ninety-nine Chinese university students returned usable questionnaires. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results demonstrated that P-E fit fully mediated the relationship between PSS and perceived employability and partially mediated the PSS–CDSE relationship. Multi-group SEM revealed that the relationship between PSS and P-E fit was stronger among males than among females. This gender difference also contributed to the gender difference in the indirect relationships of PSS with perceived employability and CDSE via P-E fit, such that these indirect relationships were stronger for males than for females.
Retaining teachers in the workforce is a major social issue as this vital profession suffers from low levels of prestige and high levels of attrition. This article is a report on research into the psychological predictors of career engagement in preservice and practicing teachers (N = 364). It was hypothesized that teachers’ conscientiousness and neuroticism would predict higher and lower career engagement, respectively, both directly and indirectly via career optimism. Structural equation modeling affirmed that career optimism mediated the relationships of conscientiousness and neuroticism with career engagement. The current findings highlight the need to investigate the contribution of career optimism to teachers’ career engagement to capitalize on adaptive personality processes and mitigate the deleterious effects of negative emotionality.
Career/vocational counsellors and researchers have traditionally focused on career interest surveys as a way of better matching client to careers that they will find both interesting and rewarding. However, recent research has demonstrated that personality is also an important, significant predictor of vocational choice, though is distinct from career interests. Only recently have researchers begun to explore personality in a broader context, by examining personality constructs outside of the five-factor model (FFM). In the current study, we explored whether the Dark Triad would add incremental prediction in broad scales of career interests beyond that of the FFM. Our findings indicated that the Dark Triad accounted for incremental prediction and unique variance in career interests as measured by the Jackson Career Explorer. The implications of this are discussed.
The aim of the present study was to present and test a model assuming that career-related variables might function as antecedents of workaholism—the tendency to work compulsively and excessively. More specifically, based on conservation of resource theory and social identity theory, the study tested whether personal (i.e., career insecurity, extrinsic career goals, and career commitment) and contextual variables (i.e., career barriers and perceived organizational support) are related to workaholism. We tested our assumptions by means of stepwise hierarchical regression analyses within a large sample of N = 685 scientists working in different occupational fields (e.g., social science, arts and humanities, economics, and science, technology, engineering, mathematics) in German research institutes and universities. The results showed that career insecurity, career barriers, career commitment, and extrinsic career goals were positively associated, and perceived organizational support was negatively associated, with workaholism. Furthermore, the set of analyzed career variables showed incremental validity and explained a significant portion of variance in workaholism beyond control variables (i.e., gender, age, work hours, and occupational field) and personality (i.e., extroversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism).
Career distress is a common and painful outcome of many negative career experiences, such as career indecision, career compromise, and discovering career barriers. However, there are very few scales devised to assess career distress, and the two existing scales identified have psychometric weaknesses. The absence of a practical, validated scale to assess this construct restricts research related to career distress and limits practitioners who need to assess and treat it. Using a sample of 226 young adults (mean age 20.5 years), we employed item response theory to assess 12 existing career distress items for model fit, item bias, location dependency, dimensionality, reliability, response option suitability, and construct validity. Three of the 12 items examined were removed as they did not fit the Rasch model or were not invariant across groups. The remaining 9 items, which we combined into a scale labeled the Career Distress Scale, demonstrated excellent psychometric properties, meaning that both researchers and practitioners can use it with confidence. Continued validation is required, including testing its relationship to other nomological net variables, testing predictive validity, and assessing test–retest reliability.
This study explored similarities and differences of negative career thoughts in a sample of 1,562 Americans and 3,811 South Koreans by analyzing mean scores, item endorsement rates, and factor structures of the career thoughts inventory (CTI). A comparison of mean scores of the CTI scales showed that Koreans scored significantly higher on all scales than did Americans among high school, college, and adult participants. However, a comparison of ranks of item endorsement rates indicated that they were very similar. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the original three-factor solution of the normative data was a good fit for the United States across all age-groups but was not for the normative data of the respective age-groups from South Korea. Follow-up exploratory factor analyses identified possible alternative internal structures of the Korean CTI. Implications of the findings regarding plausible cultural influences on negative career thoughts as well as the use of the CTI in career counseling with members of the United States and Korean cultures are discussed.
The main goal of the present study was to examine gender differences in the variables that explain the experience of role conflict and well-being among Jewish working mothers versus working fathers in Israel (n = 611). The unique contribution of the study lies in its integrative approach to examining the experience of two types of role conflict: work interferes with family (WIF) and family interferes with work (FIW). The explanatory variables included sense of overload, perceived social support, and gender role ideology. The findings revealed that for women, both FIW and WIF conflict correlated negatively with well-being, whereas for men, a negative correlation with well-being was found only in the case of FIW conflict. Contrary to expectations, social support contributed more to mitigating negative affect among men than among women. On the whole, the findings highlight the changes that men have experienced in the work–family system.
Threatening stereotypes have been theorized as having negative consequences for domain identification among members of the stigmatized groups. The present research tested this disidentification hypothesis among college women (N = 650) in academic majors that should be vulnerable (i.e., science and engineering) and immune (e.g., humanities and education) to these theorized effects. Results of structural equation modeling analyses were consistent with theoretical expectations, as stereotype threat was negatively and indirectly associated with the adoption of self- and task-approach achievement goals through its relationship with science identity for science and engineering majors but not women in nonstereotyped majors. For the latter group, stereotype threat bypassed science identity and was instead both directly and indirectly related to approach motivation. Implications for academic/career motivation, science identity, and career counseling intervention are discussed.
The research related to the working alliance in career counseling is reviewed in this article. This review indicates that the working alliance does typically increase over the course of career counseling. Furthermore in career counseling, most of the correlations between the working alliance and various outcome measures were significant and hovered around .30, which is consistent with findings related to the correlation between the working alliance and the outcome in psychotherapy. In terms of factors that predict the working alliance’s contribution to career counseling outcome, there is a lack of studies and more research is needed in this area. This article also provides suggestions for practice in career counseling and recommendations for future research.
This study examined the relative performance of three career counseling protocols: a strengths-based protocol, an interest-based protocol, and a protocol that combined strengths and interests. Outcome measures included career exploration, occupational engagement, career decision self-efficacy, hope, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction pre- and post-intervention. The participants consisted of 82 undergraduate students enrolled in a career and life-planning course. Each participant received a career counseling intervention and a Strong Interest Inventory (SII), StrengthsFinder, or both the SII and StrengthsFinder interpretation. While all three groups showed significant gains from pretest to posttest on most outcomes, results suggest the interests protocol (IP) was the most effective approach when considering the conservation of resources. However, results also merit further exploration of the combined protocol (CP; strengths plus interests) given the greatest gains were achieved by this approach on all but one construct, though not significantly different from the IP. Implications are discussed.
To examine the factors that keep prospective clients from pursuing career counseling, the career-planning belief model (CPBM), consisting of five career planning-related belief types that are based on the health belief model principles, and the accompanying Career-Planning Belief Questionnaire (CPBQ) were developed. Study 1 (n = 200) presents the development and the psychometric properties of CPBQ. In Study 2 (n = 330), confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the proposed model provided a good fit to the data. Additionally, the CPBM predicted intentions to seek career counseling: Higher anticipated effectiveness of career counseling, higher perceived severity of career-planning difficulties, and higher motivation to invest efforts in career-adjustment activities were positively associated with intentions to seek career counseling. Perceived benefits or obstacles to help seeking were not predictive of intentions. The findings suggest methods by which prospective clients may be encouraged to seek career counseling and implications for career counseling.
Schein proposed his career anchor construct more than 40 years ago. The purpose of our research is to use current career theory perspectives to reconceptualize and develop a measure that is grounded in the career anchor framework but better reflects the boundaryless nature of careers today. We conducted two studies in which we develop and validate a measure of career orientation by examining its internal structure (Study 1) and external validity within a nomological network of conceptually related variables (Study 2). Results suggest that career orientation is best represented by a six-dimension factor structure: entrepreneurial creativity, security, managerial competence, lifestyle, technical competence, and service to a cause. Five of the six factors that emerged were correlated as expected with proactive personality, ambition, career self-management behaviors, mentoring relationships, and workplace attitudes, providing support for our conceptualization and measure of career orientation. The implications for both theory and practice are discussed.
In response to Feldman and Bolino’s call for a career anchor categorization system, several nonempirical and empirical attempts have been made to describe the relationships between career anchors. Feldman and Bolino suggest that such a system would be useful for counseling individuals and describing their career decisions. This article identifies the weaknesses of current career anchor relationship models and proposes an approach for conceptualizing complementarity and exclusivity relationships between career anchors. The results suggest a new approach for describing the underlying dimensions which influence career decisions. Four underlying career dimensions with dichotomous poles are identified and described. It is suggested that Schein’s practice of characterizing career orientation using eight career anchor profiles may be too inflexible and imprecise to accommodate current understandings of career orientation. It would be simpler, yet more precise, to map individuals directly to the underlying dimensions that govern career anchors rather than use career anchors as an intermediary.
The underrepresentation of women in leadership positions is a nagging problem in American society. Young women’s leadership intentions drive them to assume leadership opportunities despite barriers. The role of one particular personality trait most identified with leadership, namely, social potency, was examined in directly and indirectly predicting leadership intentions. 124 female college students were sampled. As hypothesized, social potency directly predicted leadership self-efficacy, leadership interest, and one of the two indicators of leadership intentions. Moreover, social potency indirectly predicted leadership intentions through leadership self-efficacy. A bootstrap procedure yielded significant indirect effects of social potency on leadership self-efficacy, leadership interest, and leadership intentions.
The aim of the present investigation is to examine key aspects regarding the validity of the spherical model of vocational interests in Germany, namely, its structural validity, its convergent validity—with an instrument assessing vocational interests according to the RIASEC (R—Realistic, I—Investigative, A—Artistic, S—Social, E—Enterprising, and C—Conventional) model—and its construct validity regarding the pattern of gender differences. To this end, the Personal Globe Inventory (PGI) was translated and completed by a sample of German university students. Results of randomization tests of hypothesized order relations provided support for the structural validity of the instrument in female and male university students. Principal components analyses with target rotations identified two particular scales as outliers. RIASEC scores derived from the PGI correlated strongly with corresponding scales of another instrument, and gender differences were in line with previous findings reported in the literature. Overall, our results provide evidence for the validity of the spherical model in German university students.
The purposes of this study were to translate the revised version of a measure of career aspirations, the Career Aspiration Scale–Revised (CASR), into Korean and to evaluate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Korean version of the revised measure. First, the CASR was translated into Korean using multiple translation strategies (Korean version of the Career Aspiration Scale-Revised [K-CASR]). Then, the psychometric properties of the K-CASR were examined with data from 377 college women in Korea. After the removal of several negatively worded items (due to a possible method effect), the 18-item version of the K-CASR demonstrated good model fit with the hypothesized three-factor structure (achievement, leadership, and educational aspirations). The K-CASR also exhibited moderately high internal consistency and stability. Convergent validity was supported by positive correlations with achievement motivation, career orientation, and career goal engagement. Implications for future research and counseling were discussed.
The purpose of this study was to improve an instrument used to assess career aspirations (the Career Aspiration Scale), so the revised measure can be used with confidence in research and practice. Items were added to the existing two scales (educational and leadership aspirations) to enhance reliability. In addition, items assessing a third construct of importance to the operationalization of career aspiration (i.e., achievement aspiration) were developed for inclusion in the revised measure. Three studies to assess the psychometric properties of the Career Aspiration Scale–Revised (CAS-R) were conducted with a total of 583 undergraduate and graduate women. The results of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the three-factor solution assessing achievement, leadership, and educational aspirations had good model fit. Support also was found for the reliability and validity of the CAS-R when used with undergraduate and graduate women. Suggestions for future research and practice using this measure are provided.
The current study examined the applicability of Frone’s model of work–family relations to work–study relations. The contribution of internal and external antecedents to conflict and facilitation relations between work and study was tested. The model also includes the effects of these relations on academic and psychological health outcomes. The participants were 661 Israeli working students (M age = 26.08, SD = 3.18). Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis indicated an adequate index fit, suggesting that aspects of conflict and facilitation relations coexist when blending work and study. Number of working hours and financial support predicted conflict relations that, in turn, lowered grades, negatively affected further academic plans, and increased depression. Work salience, social, and academic support predicted facilitation relations, encouraged further academic study, and boosted grades. Results emphasize the advantage in examining conflict and facilitation relations simultaneously when investigating career development and psychological health of working students.
Family influence is a key factor in career development and considerably more so in some cultures than others. Assessing the extent to which family plays a role in college students’ career development within collectivistic cultures may thus significantly contribute to the extant literature by offering varying perspectives on the relationships between familial influence, career preparation satisfaction, and life satisfaction. The present study examined the cultural validity of the Family Influence Scale (FIS) through a sample of 420 South Korean college students. The FIS was then used in a test of family influence as the main distal contextual factor in the Social Cognitive Career Theory—Life Satisfaction Model. Overall, results supported the cultural validity of FIS and also the hypothesized model. Family informational support, family expectations, family financial support, career decision-making self-efficacy, expectancy of outcome, career preparation behavior, and career preparation satisfaction were each found to significantly relate to life satisfaction, accounting for 57% of the variance. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Self-determination theory (SDT) was used to explain the relation of parental autonomy support for making their own decisions and career well-being (i.e., more academic major satisfaction and less subjective career distress). Perceived academic competence and perceived volitional autonomy were posited to mediate the relation of mother’s and father’s autonomy support and career well-being in 113 university students. Perceived academic competence mediated the relation of father’s support and both indicators of career well-being. Perceived volitional autonomy mediated the relation of mother’s support and both indicators of career well-being. A bootstrap procedure yielded significant mediation effects of mother’s and father’s autonomy support on career well-being. Results are discussed in terms of SDT and career well-being.
Investigations of the link between the Big Five personality traits and vocational interests have typically found no consistent relationships between personality traits and Realistic interests. The present article uses intraindividual criterion profile analysis in two studies to identify patterns in the relationships between personality traits and Realistic interests not found by previous investigations. In the first study, personality scores from two inventories were used to predict Realistic overall, basic, and occupational interests for 574 adults. Realistic–Producing interests were driven by high intraindividual Openness and low Extraversion. Realistic-Adventuring interests were marked by low intraindividual Agreeableness and high Extraversion. The Intellect aspect of Openness, not the Experiencing aspect, drove the Openness–Producing relationship. In the second study, reanalysis of 19 additional samples from the literature confirmed the important role of Openness to Intellect, but not Experiencing, in driving Producing interests. Gender moderated profile pattern shapes. Generally, personality profile pattern, not absolute levels of traits, drove the validity of personality traits in explaining Realistic vocational interests.
Work anecdotes and popular media programs such as Office Space, The Office, and Dilbert suggest that there are a number of workers in the United States who feel a sense of apathy toward their workplace and their job. This article develops these ideas theoretically and provides validity evidence for a scale of job apathy across two studies. Job apathy is defined as a type of selective apathy characterized by diminished motivation and affect toward one’s job. A scale of job apathy was developed and data from a sample of currently or recently employed college students supported two dimensions: apathetic action and apathetic thought. Job apathy was found to be empirically distinct from clinical apathy, negative affectivity, cynicism, and employee engagement. Job apathy was also found to have incremental validity in the prediction of personal initiative, withdrawal, and organizational deviance. Practical implications and future research directions for job apathy are discussed.
Critical consciousness of inequity and racism may be a significant asset for Latina/Latino youth’s educational persistence and vocational development. This study describes the development and testing of a new measure of critical consciousness in two samples of Latina/Latino adolescents. Study 1 presents an exploratory factor analysis of the critical consciousness items in a sample of 476 Latina/Latino students from 65 high schools. Study 2 presents confirmatory factor analyses of the items in a separate sample of Latina/Latino students from 74 high schools for the English (n = 680) and Spanish (n = 190) versions of the measure. A two-factor structure (Critical Agency and Critical Behavior) provided a good fit to the data. Relationships between Critical Agency, Critical Behavior, and variables such as postsecondary education plans, vocational outcome expectations, engagement (in school, extracurricular activities, Spanish language, and helping others), and thoughts of dropping out provide initial evidence of construct validity. Strengths, limitations, and future directions are discussed.
The present study examined the relations between work stress and both the presence of and search for meaning in life. Three components of meaningful work—positive meaning, meaning-making, and greater good motivations—were investigated as potential moderators. As hypothesized, work stress had a significant, negative relation with the presence of meaning in life, and a significant, positive relation with the search for meaning in life. Furthermore, the meaning making component of meaningful work moderated the relation between work stress and the presence of meaning in life. Specifically, meaning making served as a buffer where greater meaning making at work was associated with weaker relations between work stress and the presence of meaning in life. None of the three components of meaningful work moderated the relation between work stress and the search for meaning in life. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
This study examined the association between salespersons’ sense of calling and their job performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and investigated the mediating role of occupational self-efficacy and the moderating role of living one’s calling on the relationships. The results indicated that salespersons’ level of calling was moderately associated with their OCB but not related to their job performance. Occupational self-efficacy fully mediated the relationship between salespersons’ sense of calling and their job performance and partially mediated the relationship between their sense of calling and OCB. Additionally, we found positive interactions between endorsing a calling and living a calling as predictors of occupational self-efficacy and OCB. The results suggest that occupational self-efficacy plays a critical role in linking callings and job performance and that the ability to live one’s calling strengthens the benefits of endorsing a calling in a sales context. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Many people desire work that matters to others and society. This study reports the development and validation of the Work Mattering Scale (WMS), which measures work mattering with two dimensions, that is, societal mattering and interpersonal mattering. Phase I utilized a review of the scholarly literature, in-depth interviews, and expert feedback to formulate 45 items. In Phase II, with a sample of 299 working adults in the United States, exploratory factor analyses were employed and produced a two-factor model with 10 items. In Phase III, with another sample of 251 working adults, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the initial structure specified in Phase II. In Phase IV, the construct validity was examined by correlations and factor analysis among the total and subscale scores with existing measures. In Phase V, 4-week test–retest reliability was calculated. Results provided support for the reliability and validity of the WMS.
The present article examined predictors of work volition, or the perception of control in one’s future career decision making, with two samples of undergraduate students. Building from the Psychology of Working Framework, in Study 1, a hierarchical regression analysis was conducted examining four classes of potential predictors: demographic characteristics, positive affect, sense of control, and career barriers. Social class, sense of control, and career barriers were significant predictors of work volition. In Study 2, a new sample of undergraduate students were surveyed at two time points to examine the temporal relation of work volition with social class, sense of control, and career barriers. Structural equation modeling was used to construct a cross-lagged model. Time 2 work volition was predicted by Time 1 social class and career barriers. Additionally, Time 1 work volition predicted Time 2 career barriers and general sense of control. Implications for practice are discussed.
This is a first initiative to apply career exploration research to understand and assess a career intervention in Hong Kong. In responding to educational and social changes, a one-semester academic career course was designed to foster the participants’ career exploration in a public university in Hong Kong. Data were drawn from about 380 students enrolled voluntarily across three successive semesters in either the career course or another academic course unrelated to career development. The career course served as an intervention to enhance exploration for enrolled students, with students from an unrelated academic course in the same semester included as a comparison group. Pre- and post-assessments were conducted to assess the career course’s impact in terms of career decision making, career adaptability, and relational support. The reflection and discussion here focus on the course’s effectiveness and cultural appropriateness as a career intervention tool and its strategic value in higher education in Hong Kong and beyond.
Previous research in vocational psychology has investigated various contextual factors that have influenced the career development process of Asian Americans. Such factors include family influence, acculturation, cultural values, and conflict within the family. However, there has been limited research on the role of family influence on careers in the context of Asian parent–child dyads. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the congruence of family influence on careers, specifically investigating whether aspects of family influence are predicted by congruence of values, acculturation, and intergenerational conflict, among Asian parent–child dyads. There were a total of 30 Asian parent and college-age student dyads. Multiple regression analyses were performed to answer the research question, with findings suggesting that congruence of values, acculturation, and intergenerational conflict predicted congruence of the family expectations aspect of family influence on careers. Implications for theory, practice, and research are discussed.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the internal consistency and test–retest reliability, the internal structure, and construct validity of the Chinese version of the Emotional and Personality-Related Career Difficulties questionnaire (EPCD). Based on a sample of 540 Chinese university students, high-reliability coefficients for the overall scale (α = .93), the three clusters (.78, .85, and .93), and adequate reliability for its 11 difficulty categories (range from .64 to .85) were observed. The 2-week test–retest reliabilities of the overall scale, three clusters, and 11 difficulty categories were also adequate (ranging from .61 to .94). Confirmatory factor analysis of the original theoretical model (11 difficulty categories loaded on three major clusters and then one general factor) demonstrated acceptable model fit after deleting three small-loading items. The pattern of associations between the clusters of the EPCD and the Trait Anxiety Scale, the Career Decision Scale, and the Vocational Identity Scale supported its construct validity. The discussion of the use of EPCD in China and suggestions for future research are proposed.
Social cognitive career theory and research are advanced by increasing attention to career outcome expectations and by applying this theory earlier in the life span. This article offers the career exploratory outcome expectations construct as a means of applying the more general construct of career outcome expectations during the childhood period and introduces the psychometric characteristics of the Career Exploratory Outcome Expectations Scale (CEOES). Employing data from 446 fifth graders and item response theory (IRT), the CEOES presents a one-dimensional structure with a four-category Likert-type response scale. Favorable results of person- and item-separation reliability were found and the scale appears to perform equally well for both genders. The CEOES also demonstrated concurrent validity through positive associations with established self-efficacy measures. The CEOES constitutes a useful measure to study aspects of career outcome expectations in childhood, and psychometric findings affirm its use in the career assessment literature.
Reviews of research on the evaluation of career assistance from 1970 to 2014 (N = 23) are examined for common conclusions and recommendations. Conclusions are tempered based upon the small numbers of studies included. Recommendations for strengthening research using integrated treatment chains and incorporating epidemiologically based statistics (i.e., risk ratio, odds ratio, and population attributable fraction) are described. A shift in prevailing research paradigm from an emphasis on the individual to an emphasis on the community would supplement evaluations based upon individual outcomes and make a more compelling case to policy makers and funders who could support future evaluative research and provision of career assistance.
The purposes of this article are to (a) summarize the status of career intervention research since Spokane and Oliver’s seminal meta-analysis of vocational intervention outcome and (b) discuss in more detail a recently proposed method for determining whether career interventions make a difference in the lives of clients (clinical significance). Although several excellent meta-analyses of the career intervention outcome literature have appeared since 1983, we briefly summarize the meta-analytic results, discuss future research directions that were suggested by the meta-analyses, and evaluate our progress in addressing suggestions. The bulk of the article focuses on summarizing how clinical significance of career outcomes can be addressed, presenting normative data that can be used to address clinical significance questions with several widely used outcome measures, and illustrating clinical significance calculations using published career intervention studies.
Character strengths are durable positive attributes that contribute to well-being in life and at work. They are also hypothesized to contribute to the growth and flourishing of individuals and organizations. However, their associations with work performance and counterproductive work behaviors have rarely been studied. The present study seeks to identify character strengths most highly associated with work performance and counterproductive work behaviors and explores the role of individuals’ sense of meaning at work and work orientation in mediating these associations. An international sample (N = 686) completed the measures of strengths endorsement, work performance, counterproductive work behaviors, sense of meaning at work, and work orientation. Results pointed to perseverance as most highly associated with work performance and most negatively associated with counterproductive work behaviors. These associations were mediated by working individuals’ sense of meaning at work and perceptions of work as a career and as a calling. These findings highlight the contribution of perseverance to work performance and counterproductive behaviors, beyond the role of other character strengths, and highlight work meaningfulness and work orientation as psychological mechanisms underlying its effects.
Although much attention has been devoted to examining the measurement of vocational interests, much less attention has been directed to studying leisure interests, despite suggestions for incorporation of leisure interests into career counseling, particularly for college students. Furthermore, research on the relations between leisure and vocational interests highlights that some leisure interests are highly related to vocational interests, such as interests in Social, Artistic, and Realistic activities. To advance understanding on interests and the relations between leisure and vocational interests, the current study used Latent Profile Analysis, a novel approach to examining interest profiles that identifies groups of individuals with similar profiles. Support was found for seven different interest profiles in a sample of college students. Additionally, a number of mean differences on work values, work centrality, and personality traits among the seven profiles were examined.
The aim of the present study was to analyze if and how career adaptability reduces different types of insecurity. More specifically, we argue in a theoretical model at the intersection of career and organizational research that perceived internal and external marketability serve as connecting variables in the link between career adaptability and job and career insecurity. We tested our assumptions by means of multiple indirect effects path analyses across two measurement points (6-month time span) with data from 142 university researchers working in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) fields. The results showed that career adaptability was positively related to perceived internal and external marketability, which both subsequently were negatively associated with job and career insecurity. We draw theoretical implications for career research in intra- and extraorganizational settings and discuss practical implications for fostering secure employment.
The Career Interest Test (CIT) is a 63-item forced-choice instrument designed to measure seven career interests. Although the measure possesses favorable psychometric properties, there have been recent calls for the development of a shortened version of the inventory. The present article reports on research conducted to develop a short form of the CIT. Using archival data from over 180,000 respondents, categorical confirmatory factor analyses were conducted with limited information methods. Items with the highest absolute factor loadings for each career interest were retained for the short form of the inventory, comprising 21 items, and renamed the 21-CIT. The large within-subject correlations between career interest scores on the full CIT and 21-CIT indicate that the short form provides a comparable degree of content coverage for the career interests. We consider implications for career research and practice as well as suggest directions for future research.
Youth are the future of a country and their workplace skills are vital for a society’s growth and development. Unattached youth, neither at school nor at employment, pose a great challenge to the society. This study examines the impact of certain factors on unattached youth workplace skill development. Using a group of 322 unattached Jamaican youth who were recruited by the Jamaican National Youth Service, this study investigates certain individual differences such as five personality factors (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), cognitive ability, and gender’s impact on workplace skills development among this group of Jamaican unattached youth using the multilevel modeling (MLM) analysis. The findings indicated that certain individual characteristics such as neuroticism and agreeableness have significant impact on their workplace skills development. Based on these results, career counseling and development should be considered to help unattached youth to develop their workplace skills to reach their potential.
The current study examines the relative impact of vocational interests and prestige on medical students’ aspired work environments. The following areas were included: family doctor, specialist in a private practice, specialist in a hospital, scientific researcher, and dentist. We also added the category "undecided students." The sample consisted of 788 medical students in their preclinical years. Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that the impact of vocational interests and prestige varied as a function of the medical students’ aspired work environments. Students with investigative interests particularly aspired to become scientific researchers (compared to the reference category of family doctor), whereas students interested in prestigious careers aspired to become specialists in a private practice (but not specialists in a hospital). Students with realistic interests particularly aspired to become dentists or specialists in a hospital. This article is concluded by a discussion of the impact of the person–environment fit on students’ career decisions.
This study constructed a situation-based career interest assessment (SCIA) that is suitable for applying to junior high school students. The assessment framework is based on Holland’s theory of vocational interest. The subjects for the pilot study and the formal test were 1,072 junior high school students and 1,136 junior high school students, respectively. The results of reliability tests produced correlation coefficients between .77 and .95, exploratory factor analysis produced factor loadings between .32 and .92 for six factors, and confirmatory factor analysis produced relative fit indices of .95 across the comparative fit index and nonnormed fit index, indicating a satisfactory goodness of fit. Convergent and discriminant validity analyses indicated that the SCIA has acceptable construct validity. Multidimensional scaling analysis, internal correlation, and randomization test showed that the interest structure of adolescents and the relationship among interest types are only partially consistent with Holland’s theory.
This study examines the validity of the three-factor model of person–environment (P-E) fit perceptions in a sample of German university students (N = 326) and examines the connection between these fit types, the Big Five personality traits, and markers of academic success, namely, academic satisfaction, academic performance, and major change intention. Building upon previous research, a three-factor model of P-E fit perceptions with complex loadings was hypothesized differentiating between interest-major (I-M) fit, needs-supplies (N-S) fit, and demands-abilities (D-A) fit. Results from confirmatory factor analyses supported the suggested three-factor solution. Zero-order correlations, multiple regression analyses, and relative weight analyses identified perceived I-M fit as the key predictor of academic satisfaction and major change intention. D-A fit was the strongest predictor of academic performance. Finally, a hierarchical regression approach revealed that personality traits did not improve the prediction of any outcome over perceived P-E fit.
The present study examined the differences in the experience of a calling among working adults in the Unites States and India. First, we examined group differences in perceiving a calling and living a calling between Americans and Indians, with Indians being more likely to endorse perceiving and living out a calling than Americans. Second, we tested a moderated, multiple mediator model to investigate the mediating role of life meaning and job satisfaction in the relation of living a calling to life satisfaction and the moderating role of nationality. Supporting prior research, both life meaning and job satisfaction were found to mediate the relation between living a calling and life satisfaction. Furthermore, we found that nationality moderated the living calling–life meaning and living calling–job satisfaction links. These results indicate the importance of nationality in the link between living a calling and life satisfaction. Implications for research are discussed.
As a result of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, colleges and universities across the United States are experiencing an increase in student veteran enrollment. There is limited information about student veterans making career choices, as it relates to their transition to college. This study examined what factors of career transitions (e.g., confidence, independence, support, control, and readiness) were predicted by career adaptability (e.g., control, concern, confidence, and curiosity) and occupational engagement within a developmental framework. Although career adaptabilities and occupational engagement did not predict the confidence and support aspects of career transitions, they did predict readiness. This suggests that if military service students are able to manage the idea of occupational transitions from military to college and willing to engage in specific occupational tasks, they may be ready to participate in career planning activities. Further theoretical and practical implications for researchers, clinicians, and university staff and administrations are also discussed.
The goal of this study was to develop and test a theoretical model of Strategies for Coping with Career Indecision (SCCI). The proposed model consists of 14 categories that represent three major coping clusters—Productive coping, Support-seeking, and Nonproductive coping. The major concepts of the model were adopted from coping theories (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993; Skinner, Edge, Altman, & Sherwood, 2003) and adapted to the context of career decision making. To test the proposed model, the SCCI questionnaire was developed and refined using data from 10 samples (N = 3,081). Study 1 reports the development of the SCCI and its psychometric properties using an additional sample of Israelis young adults deliberating about their career decisions (N = 460). Study 2a presents the results of a confirmatory factor analysis, based on American (N = 386) and Israeli (N = 819) samples of young adults. Study 2b tests the concurrent validity of the SCCI. The results from both the American and the Israeli samples supported the hypothesized distinction among the three major coping clusters; however, Support-seeking was associated partially with Productive coping and partially with Nonproductive coping. The implications for future research and career counseling are discussed.
Based on a sample of 319 Israeli women belonging to the ultraorthodox Jewish community, this study examined factors that facilitate and inhibit the development of employment hardiness. The term employment hardiness refers to one aspect of me as a worker and reflects a self-perception characterized by three distinguishing components, that is, openness to change at work, employment self-efficacy, and work commitment. Facilitators of employment hardiness were manifested in the women’s personal and environmental resources as well as in their work-promoting attitudes (egalitarian gender-role ideology and work centrality). Conversely, the inhibitors were manifested in the participants’ experience of daily stress. Openness to change at work and employment self-efficacy were explained primarily by workplace support and by personal resources as reflected in psychological and community empowerment, whereas work commitment was explained primarily by work-promoting attitudes as well as by the experience of daily stress. Practical recommendations are presented for organizations employing ultraorthodox women as well as for employment counselors, which aim to enhance employment hardiness among traditional women in communities undergoing modernization.
Competency in forms of scientific communication, both written and spoken, is essential for success in academic science. This study examined the psychometric properties of three new measures, based on social cognitive career theory, that are relevant to assessment of skill and perseverance in scientific communication. Pre- and postdoctoral trainees in biomedical science (N = 411) completed online questionnaires assessing self-efficacy in scientific communication, career outcome expectations, and interest in performing tasks in scientific writing, oral presentation, and impromptu scientific discourse. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate factor structures and model relations. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a 22-item, 3-factor measure of self-efficacy; an 11-item, 2-factor measure of outcome expectations; and a 12-item, 3-factor measure of interest in scientific communication activities. Construct validity was further demonstrated by theory-consistent inter-factor relations and relations with typical communications performance behaviors (e.g., writing manuscripts, abstracts, and presenting at national meetings).
The Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) has become one of the most widely used questionnaires to assess career adaptability. To facilitate its integration into large surveys, in varied settings, the aim of this article was to develop a brief 12-item version, the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale–Short Form (CAAS-SF). A sample of 2,800 French- and German-speaking adults living in Switzerland completed the CAAS. On a first random subsample, a principal component analyses conducted on the CAAS-SF suggested a four-factor solution. A one-to-one association was found between these components and the subscales of the CAAS-SF. Confirmatory factor analyses, conducted on a second random subsample, confirmed the hierarchical factor structure of this short version. Based on Cheung and Rensvold’s criteria, the CAAS-SF reached measurement equivalence across linguistic and gender groups. Furthermore, the 12- and 24-item versions were strongly associated. The results supported the CAAS-SF as pertinent and economical alternative to the 24-item version.
This study examined the nomological network for the Family Influence Scale in the United States and India. Specifically, the study assessed the relationship between family influences on career decision making and the constructs of family obligation, work volition, calling, work values, and occupational engagement across two countries. A total of 136 U.S. participants and 377 participants from India responded to a survey via Amazon Mechanical Turk. The study found support for the construct validity and the four different types of family influences both between the United States and the Indian population. Family influence was correlated in expected ways with family obligation, work volition, work values, calling, and occupational engagement.
The Protean and Boundaryless Career Attitudes scales developed by Briscoe and colleagues have facilitated research on career attitudes and mindsets, but they are unnecessarily lengthy and somewhat redundant in their content. To address these concerns, this article presents three studies that develop and validate short forms of the Protean and Boundaryless Career Attitudes scales (i.e., PCA-SF and BCA-SF). Study findings suggest that the PCA-SF and BCA-SF provide a more efficient assessment of the protean and boundaryless career attitudes constructs than the full-length measures and exhibit partial measurement equivalence across U.S. and Korean populations.
The anthropologist Edward Hall wrote extensively on the concept of polychronicity in which he documented the differences between people and cultures in the extent to which they differentially managed their daily activities in the context of space and time. In the work reported here, we have broadened the definition of the polychronicity concept that we define as the capacity of the individual to tolerate multiple sources of stimuli and information occurring in both time and space without suffering psychological distress or disorientation. In earlier work, summarized in several publications, we have constructed and validated a 25-item measure of individual capacity for tolerating stimulus loads across the following five information processing dimensions namely, information load, interpersonal load, change load, activity structure, and time structure. Several previous studies by our research group have found significant connections to a variety of behavioral criteria, including the capacity for visual and motor multitasking, arousal levels, speed of processing, and cross-cultural differences. In this article, we report on how we have augmented the number of items in each of the five dimensions, performed item analysis, reassessed the internal consistency reliability of the five subscales, and evaluated the validity of the new subscales against several criteria with a contemporary sample of 431 employed adults drawn from each of the Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC) categories of Holland’s taxonomy.
This study aimed at relating trust and psychological empowerment to Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ job satisfaction. Participants were 217 (117 females and 100 males) Iranian EFL teachers teaching in secondary school. Four dimensions of psychological empowerment (meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact), three faculty trust (trust in principal, trust in colleague, and trust in students and parents), and two aspects of job satisfaction (intrinsic and extrinsic) were measured. The collected data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling (SEM) using the AMOS 20 program. Results indicated that psychological empowerment was directly related to job satisfaction; however, trust was indirectly related to job satisfaction through psychological empowerment. Assuming job satisfaction as the causing factor, results indicated that job satisfaction could be directly related to other two variables. Findings have valuable implications for secondary school principals and authorities of Ministry of Education in higher levels.
This study attempted to examine the validity of the Italian version of the Career Factors Inventory (CFI), a psychometric tool widely used in the assessment of cognitive and personal–emotional dimensions of career indecision, among a sample of 2,060 Italian students attending high school and university. Recurring to both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the original four-factor structure was confirmed and returned, in line with the literature, satisfactory reliability indices; moreover, CFI subscales showed intercorrelations consistent with previous studies, albeit lower in some cases. Subsequently, convergent validity between the four CFI subscales and other scales via zero-order correlation was tested, confirming previous evidence except for need for career information. In conclusion, consistent with previous studies, the Italian version of the CFI showed to be a valid and reliable instrument for the evaluation of dimensions of career indecision.
Despite increasing evidence that negative stereotypes adversely affect the career development of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, measuring their effects has been a challenge. This study focuses specifically on the sciences, since some, particularly physics, are notably imbalanced in terms of gender diversity. Our aim was to develop and begin to validate a measure of gender stereotypes in science, referred to as the Stereotype Threat in Science Scale-Gender (STSS-G). Participants consisted of 629 undergraduate women enrolled in biology, chemistry, and physics courses. Results of exploratory and factor mixture analyses yielded support for a 7-item scale consisting of two factors, social identity and identity threat, and five latent classes underlying a heterogeneous population. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that the two latent variables were significantly associated with scores on existing measures of science identity and stereotype threat. The construct, differential, and concurrent validity of the STSS-G are discussed.
Workers exposed to job insecurity and job changes are ever increasing, however, studies among temporary workers are underrepresented in the literature. This study adopts a positive approach to the topic investigating the individual factors leading temporary workers to take advantage from their flexible jobs. This study, carried on among 471 temporary workers, hypothesized that self-efficacy and internal locus of control are associated with work satisfaction and with the perception of situational opportunities. Moreover, self-efficacy is posited to indirectly relate to work satisfaction through the perception of situational opportunities and career enhancement strategies. Findings attested a direct association between internal locus of control and satisfaction and an indirect association between self-efficacy and work satisfaction.
Both career-related developmental indecision and chronic indecisiveness are manifested in the difficulties individuals experience when choosing a career. Developmental career indecision is often regarded as a normal stage that many individuals undergo, regardless of individual differences in various personality factors. Testing this premise was the focus of this study. Specifically, the associations between career decision-making difficulties (Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire, a measure of developmental career indecision) and the Big Five personality factors were investigated among participants from three educational settings: 248 high school students, 167 on-the-job training (OJT) interns, and 186 university students. The results revealed that university students experience less developmental career indecision than high school students and OJT interns, suggesting that individuals' educational setting affects the prevalence of such difficulties. However, the personality factors of Extroversion and Neuroticism consistently explained a significantly larger percentage of variance in participants’ developmental career indecision levels in all three samples than did educational setting or age. These results suggest that developmental career indecision may in fact be more personality related than previously thought.
College students (N = 125) volunteered to participate in a study of career exploratory behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to complete the Self-Directed Search Form R (SDS: R) Internet version or to a control group that did not complete the SDS. Results indicated that individuals who completed the SDS: R Internet and reviewed the Interpretive Report engaged in a greater frequency of exploratory career behaviors over 3 weeks and were considering more occupational alternatives than members of the control group. The amount to time spent reviewing the SDS Interpretive Report by members of the treatment group was also associated with greater frequency of career exploratory behavior and with the increased number of occupations being considered. Furthermore, vocational identity was found to mediate the relationship between minutes reviewing the SDS report and the number of occupations considered, but not the frequency of occupations explored. Anxiety as a potential second mediating variable was not associated with either. Implications for practice are discussed.
A review of empirical research on self-employment of individuals with disabilities in the United States found that success appears to be influenced most by three factors: accountability systems, level of supports, and individual characteristics. In the present study, a conceptual framework based on that review was tested on federal data on individuals with disabilities who had become successfully self-employed through Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services. Data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The initial model did not converge to an admissible solution; therefore, it was respecified. The subsequent model converged to an admissible solution, however, model fit varied across location and time. A number of factors yet remain to be uncovered and tested to explain these variations. The study concludes with a discussion of limitations, recommendations for further research, and implications for researchers, VR agencies, and policy makers.
Ingratiation is one of the most commonly studied social influence tactics that is used by employees to advance their career goals. Research examining predictors of ingratiation has rather shown inconsistent findings. To address these inconsistencies, this study drew on social cognitive theory to investigate the role of political skill as a moderator in the associations between two career-related psychological needs (i.e., need for achievement and need for power) and ingratiation. We tested these associations using independent 150 matched employee–peer dyads from Thailand. Results revealed that self-reported political skill exerted differential moderating effects on the associations among the two career-related psychological needs and peer-rated ingratiation. Whereas the association between need for achievement and ingratiation was positive under high levels of political skill, the association between need for power and ingratiation was positive under low levels of political skill.
This study examined the psychometric properties of a Korean translation of the Emotional and Personality-Related Career Decision-Making Difficulties–Short Form (EPCD-SF). The participants were 501 Korean students; 239 also completed a second survey to assess the test–retest reliability. The overall factor structure of the original EPCD was supported with the Korean EPCD-SF, but 2 items of the conflictual attachment and separation subcategory in self-concept and identity dimension showed low factor loadings, indicating that the 2 items might not be relevant to the Korean participants. The Korean EPCD-SF had a better model fit than the EPCD-Long Form did, and it was reliable and stable. The Korean EPCD-SF was positively related to other career indecision measures, such as career stress, external locus of control, and trait anxiety, and it was negatively related to career decision self-efficacy and self-esteem.
Career goal discrepancy, which is at the heart of goal-oriented, career models of motivation and agency, is the perceived gap between an individual’s career goal (i.e., future self or situation) and the progress being made toward achieving that goal (i.e., current self or situation). There are no existing scales that assess this construct. To progress research in this area, we devised a brief, 12-item measure suitable for use with young adults. Devising a scale for this population is appropriate, as young adulthood is the age when occupational goals and occupational goal progress are important foci. We generated initial items for four underlying domains of goal discrepancy (achievement, effort, ability, and standard discrepancy), had the items rated by experts, and then administered them to a large, diverse sample of young adults (N = 615, mean age 20.9 years). We reduced the number of items and tested the factor structure of the scale using exploratory factor analysis, confirmed the structure on a holdout sample using confirmatory factor analysis, and assessed construct validity by testing hypothesized relationships with existing measures (career goal commitment and career distress). Being able to assess discrepancy in the career domain will stimulate research into the career development of young adults and will allow practitioners to explore issues around career goal setting and adaptive responses to career setbacks.
This two-wave longitudinal study investigated the reciprocal relations between five possible predictors of career calling (presence of life meaning, search for life meaning, career decision self-efficacy, personal growth initiative, and intrinsic religiousness) among a sample of undergraduate college students over a 6-month period. Using structural equation modeling, two models were tested. The first model included all five predictor variables and was a poor fit for the data; the second model included only search for life meaning and personal growth and displayed improved model fit. Results from the second model indicated that search for life meaning and personal growth at Time 1 significantly predicted calling at Time 2, whereas calling at Time 1 was a nonsignificant predictor of either Time 2 outcomes. These findings suggest the more one is searching for his or her meaning in life and intentionally engaging in self-improvement, the more likely she or he is to later experience a calling.
This study analyzed the influence of the occupational context on the conceptualization of career satisfaction measured by the career satisfaction scale (CSS). In a large sample of N = 729 highly educated professionals, a cross-occupational (i.e., physicians, economists, engineers, and teachers) measurement invariance analysis showed that the CSS was conceptualized according to occupational group membership, that is, 4 of the 5 items of the scale showed measurement noninvariance. More specifically, the relative importance, the response biases, and the reliabilities associated with different career satisfaction content domains measured by the CSS (i.e., achieved success, overall career goals, goals for advancement, goals for income, and goals for development of new skills) varied by occupational context. However, results of a comparison between manifest and latent mean differences between the occupational groups revealed that the observed measurement noninvariance did not affect the estimation of mean differences.
This study explored how the perception of work as a calling, a construct with a long history in Western culture, is experienced within Chinese culture. A qualitative study was conducted with 210 Chinese college students. Using emergent qualitative document analysis, results revealed four dimensions of general calling and career-related calling: Guiding Force, Meaning and Purpose, Altruism, and Active Tendency. These results largely converge with those found using samples within Western cultures, although the label "sense of duty" was found to be a unique and salient aspect of calling among Chinese college students. Results also revealed that effect of calling was not always positive. This study provides the first evidence that many aspects of the multidimensional construct of calling may be shared within Chinese culture, at least with college student participants. Implications for research and practice are explored.
Faculty advisors play an important role in the development of graduate students. One group for which the advising relationship has been shown to be especially crucial is women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We designed two studies to assess the advising alliance for women in STEM graduate programs using the student version of the Advisor Working Alliance Inventory (AWAI) along with additional content developed by our team. Study 1 (N = 76) was developed to assess item performance and the initial structure with a pilot sample of undergraduate and graduate students in science and engineering. Study 2 (N = 293) was designed to assess the advising alliance exclusively for women in STEM graduate programs. Our results indicated that an alternative alliance structure may exist for women in STEM and in Study 2 two factors emerged, which indicated that instrumental support and psychosocial support are two salient factors for women in STEM.
This study extends prior social cognitive career theory research by using discovery methods to examine factors that (a) facilitate and hinder first-year students’ adjustment to engineering majors and (b) inform their self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations regarding pursuit of engineering careers. Participant responses to a series of open-ended questions were coded and interpreted using content analysis and consensual qualitative research methods. Participants reported experiencing several types of academic, social, and financial hurdles during their first semester. They also described factors that facilitated their academic progress—such as university programs, social support from peers, and development of personal resources—and cited other resources that, if available, could have further assisted their adjustment. In addition, participants identified experiential sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations relative to completing an engineering degree. Gender and racial group differences in coping resources and sources of self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations were examined.
Meta-analysis was employed to investigate the relationship between personality constructs of the five-factor model (FFM) and difficulties in career decision making (DCDM). Twenty studies with one to five quantitative FFM constructs were selected for review. The present study found evidence that the traits of the FFM of personality can predict DCDM. There was a statistically significant positive relationship between Neuroticism and DCDM, and statistically significant negative relationships between Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Openness. Mean effect sizes were small (<.30) with Neuroticism being the highest, closely followed by Conscientiousness, and with Agreeableness being the lowest. Both age and nationality of sample were found to be significant moderators of FFM constructs and DCDM. The discussion includes implications for research and practice.
Vocational interest surveys have traditionally employed a typology (i.e., the Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional [RIASEC] model) to distinguish individuals. Within this framework, respondents are identified as representing various types of people based on their interests in work-related activities. However, much of the existing literature on vocational interest testing has focused almost exclusively on traditional variable-centered approaches to understanding the nomological network around vocational interest variables. Therefore, the focus of the current article is an application of a person-centered approach, latent profile analysis (LPA). Using LPA, we found evidence of eight qualitatively and quantitatively distinct subgroups or types of individuals differentiated on the basis of interests in the RIASEC variables. Further, across the five-factor model and Dark Triad personality variables, minor, yet theoretically sound, differences across the eight vocational interest subgroups were found. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Given the alarming unemployment rates among emerging adults in the United States, this study investigates the relationships among volunteering, length of unemployment, likelihood/quality of reemployment, and job search strategies in a sample of emerging adults. Two hundred and sixty-five emerging adults aged between 21 and 29, all of whom were unemployed 6 months prior to taking the survey, completed an online survey. Results affirm positive associations between volunteering and likelihood of reemployment 6 months later. The number of hours spent volunteering was significantly related to reemployment status as was the length of unemployment. The use of an exploratory job search strategy, in contrast to the use of a focused or a haphazard job search strategy, was associated with reemployment. Implications of the findings and suggestions for further research are discussed along with the limitations of the present study.
Based on a sample of 611 employed parents in Israel, the study aimed to examine how occupying multiple roles on the one hand and satisfying roles on other hand are related to a sense of meaning in life (MIL). In addition, the contribution of two types of role conflict—interference of work with family (WIF) and interference of family with work (FIW) —to explaining MIL was examined. The findings revealed that the number of roles as well as the proportion of satisfying roles was directly related to a sense of MIL. Moreover, the number of roles and the proportion of satisfying roles occupied by the participants were indirectly related to their sense of MIL: The relation between the number of roles and sense of MIL was mediated by FIW conflict, whereas the relation between the proportion of satisfying roles and the sense of MIL was mediated by both types of role conflict (FIW and WIF). Men showed a greater tendency than women to experience WIF conflict, whereas no gender differences were found with regard to FIW conflict. Long hours of work outside of the home were positively related to WIF conflict and negatively related to FIW conflict.
Using a social cognitive career theory perspective, the relationships among self-efficacy, coping styles, and job satisfaction were examined in a sample of 314 nurses employed in regional hospitals in Taiwan. Results indicated that self-efficacy was positively associated with problem-focused coping style and job satisfaction and negatively associated with emotion-focused coping. The influence of self-efficacy on job satisfaction was indirect and partially mediated by coping styles. Psychologists and health care managers may use these findings to design relevant intervention programs to enhance nurses’ coping effectiveness and self-efficacy.
Having a strong vocational identity is a prelude to the formation of individuals’ overall identity. Hence, vocational identity has long been a variable of interest in vocational research. However, most existing studies utilized Holland, Gottfredson, and Power’s My Vocational Situation (MVS) vocational identity subscale to measure vocational identity. Due to how its items are worded, we contend that the MVS was not able to accurately capture vocational identity as a stable construct. Its dichotomous response scale also limits researchers’ attempts to evaluate its psychometric properties. To address these issues, we developed and validated a new "Vocational Identity Measure (VIM)" that utilizes Likert-type responses. The VIM seeks to measure how aware individuals are of their stable career goals, interests, and abilities. Results (Studies 1 and 2) suggest that the VIM possesses sound internal reliability, a stable single-factor structure, and incremental validity over the MVS. The scale also has good convergent validities with relevant constructs such as career decision self-efficacy and exploration. Based on these findings, the strengths and limitations of the VIM scale are discussed, and future research directions are proposed.
We present evidence of the construct validity of a revised version of the Work Cognition Inventory (WCI-R). With the addition of three new scales and the reforming of two from the WCI, the WCI-R contains 12 subscales to measure the cognitive factors associated with employee work passion. Across the majority of scales, the WCI-R was found to produce scores that were conceptually distinct from the preexisting measures. The WCI-R also uniquely demonstrated factor construct validity across the full set of constructs.
We surveyed 175 university undergraduates and assessed whether career compromise was associated with career distress and perceptions of employability (employment demand and employment confidence), and tested whether core-self evaluations and social capital buffered the effects of career compromise. Career compromise was associated positively with career distress and negatively with self-perceptions of employment demand. Social capital moderated the relationship between compromise and employment demand and between compromise and employment confidence. No assessed variable moderated between compromise and career distress. Understanding the correlates of career compromise and under what conditions these relationships are strengthened or weakened contributes to an understanding of how goal adjustment in the career domain might affect young people’s well-being and career progress.
Career calling, a salient career goal that is personally meaningful and oriented toward helping others, is a developmental construct that is especially important for emerging adults when making career decisions and setting career goals. As no existing measure reflects the developmental aspect of career calling, we devised an age-appropriate measure suitable for use with this population. We reviewed the extant literature, conducted focus groups, and used expert reviews to generate 34 initial items. Item and exploratory factor analyses were employed to reduce these items to 15, representing three reliable subscales (Study 1; N = 345 emerging adults). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the initial factor structure (Study 2; N = 527). Expected correlations with adult measures of career calling (search and presence), general career indecision, and life satisfaction supported construct validity (Study 2; N = 435). The implications for research and practice are discussed.
The Occupational Engagement Scale–Student (OES-S)—a 9-item measure of occupational engagement in college students—was developed and initial validity evidence is presented. Using two samples of college students, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the measure’s unidimensionality. Criterion validity was supported via the OES-S predicting (a) vocational identity, (b) academic major satisfaction, (c) gains in personal development, (d) gains in vocational competence, and (e) gains in general education. Implications for practice, theory, and future research are discussed.
The relationship of environmental exploration (EE) and self-exploration (SE) with three dimensions of career decision-making difficulties was examined in a sample of Chinese college students (N = 911) using a structural equation modeling model comparison approach. Results indicated that neither self- nor environmental exploration predicted lack of readiness difficulties, but both were equally predictive of information-deficit problems. Finally, only SE was predictive of information inconsistency. The implications of this study are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.
This study investigated the relationships among personal and environmental variables (i.e., college student generation status, psychological distress, experiences with racism and classism, and perceived social status [PSS]) and work hope. One hundred and seventy-six undergraduate students attending a predominantly White institution who identified as members of an underrepresented racial/ethnic group completed the study. Consistent with the hypotheses, results demonstrated that increased psychological distress and more experiences with classism, experiences with racism related to lowered levels of work hope and that heightened PSS related positively to work hope. When examined in combination, all variables significantly predicted work hope, but only the βs for psychological distress and PSS were significant. Unexpectedly, first-generation college students did not significantly differ from continuing generation college students in levels of work hope. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for career counseling are presented.
Research examining the career-related outcomes of ingratiation has produced fairly inconsistent findings. To move the literature forward, we draw on cognitive consistency theory and social influence theory to examine how the moderating roles of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) and political skill may affect ingratiation as a strategy to enhance an employee’s promotability. In Study 1 involving 92 independent matched subordinate–supervisor dyads from Thailand, we found support for the moderating effect of OBSE such that there was a positive relationship between supervisor-reported ingratiation and self-reported promotability among individuals with high as opposed to low OBSE. These results were replicated in Study 2 using 150 independent matched subordinate–peer–supervisor triads. Results revealed that the relationship between peer-reported ingratiation and supervisor-reported promotability became positive for those employees with high as opposed to low political skill.
Careers today increasingly require engagement in proactive career behaviors; however, there is a lack of validated measures assessing the general degree to which somebody is engaged in such career behaviors. We describe the results of six studies with six independent samples of German university students (total N = 2,854), working professionals (total N = 561), and university graduates (N = 141) that report the development and validation of the Career Engagement scale—a measure of the degree to which somebody is proactively developing his or her career as expressed by diverse career behaviors. The studies provide support for measurement invariance across gender and time. In support of convergent and discriminant validity, we find that career engagement is more prevalent among working professionals than among university students and that this scale has incremental validity above several specific career behaviors regarding its relation to vocational identity clarity and career self-efficacy beliefs among students and to job and career satisfaction among employees. In support of incremental predictive validity, beyond the effects of several more specific career behaviors, career engagement while at university predicts higher job and career satisfaction several months later after beginning work.
In order to determine the contribution of emotional intelligence (EI) to career success, in this study, we analyzed the relationship between trait EI (TEI), general mental ability (GMA), the big five personality traits, and career success indicators, in a sample of 130 graduates who were in the early stages of their careers. Results from hierarchical regression analyses indicated that TEI, and especially its dimension "repair," has incremental validity in predicting one of the career success indicators (salary) after controlling for GMA and personality. These findings provide support for the use of TEI measures as predictors of career success in the early stage.
We conducted a latent profile analysis of scores on a measure of multiple role planning attitudes obtained from an ethnically diverse sample of undergraduate women (age range: 18–29 years) to determine whether clusters of participants with distinct profiles of these attitudes were identifiable and whether these groups differed with respect to their educational level, relationship commitment status, and in their responses to independent measures of their relationship dispositions and orientations. Findings yielded support for the presence of three groups representing varying patterns of attitudinal investment in multiple role planning. Relative to their peers in the other two classes, women in the "actively engaged" group demonstrated significantly lower levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance, higher scores on relational interdependence, and stronger dispositions toward healthy self-assertion. Implications of these findings for both future research and for interventions designed to promote adaptive multiple role planning attitudes are discussed.
Drawing from the social cognitive career theory, we examined the relationship between work–family conflict (WFC) and late-career workers’ intentions to continue paid employment. We test the mediating roles of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and preferences to continue paid employment as well as the moderating role of financial satisfaction at the age of 60. Data were collected from 373 working Australians aged 40–60. Results revealed that self-efficacy and outcome expectations partially mediated the negative relationship between WFC and preferences. Family–work conflict (FWC) had a negative indirect effect on preferences via self-efficacy, while outcome expectations did not mediate this relationship. Preferences also partially mediated the positive relationship between self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and intentions. Moreover, financial satisfaction moderated the positive relationship between preferences and intentions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Career indecisiveness involves more pervasive, severe, and chronic difficulties in making career decisions and focuses on deeper personality roots as well as cognitive origin. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between career indecisiveness on one hand and self-esteem, personal indecisiveness, and five-factor personality characteristics on the other. As hypothesized, the career indecisiveness was higher in 545 Turkish high school students who had not yet decided on a profession than that of decided individuals. Also, the results showed that emotional and personality-related career decision-making difficulties are positively related to self-esteem, exploratory and impetuous indecisiveness, and neuroticism, while being negatively related to extroversion and conscientiousness. In addition, female experienced more career indecisiveness. Based on the result of the multiple regression analysis, exploratory indecisiveness was the most significant contributory factor to career indecisiveness for female and male.
The recruitment and retention of students interested in STEM pursuits (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is a national priority obstructed by a lack of relevant measures. We developed a set of assessment devices applicable to program evaluation as well as the identification of STEM interested students and their self-efficacy levels. In this article, we report the psychometric properties of two interest and two self-efficacy measures of STEM-related activities and occupations. Exploratory factor analyses conducted on each measure with a randomly selected half of the sample (n = 213) resulted in one general STEM factor. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on shortened versions of the tests for the remaining half of the sample (n = 190). Goodness-of-fit indices all supported the one-factor model. Applications of the instruments to STEM assessment and education are discussed.
In this article, we used the psychology of working framework to examine how social class relates to the experience of meaningful work with two samples of working adults. In Study 1, participants in higher social classes were more likely to experience work meaning than people in lower social classes. Regardless of class, participants reported serving others or contributing to the greater good as the primary source of their work’s meaning. In Study 2, we used a latent, multiple mediator model to test whether the three components of work volition mediated the relation between social class and work meaning. The model was a good fit to the data and partially supported our hypotheses. Specifically, volition and financial constraints fully mediated the relation between social class and work meaning, suggesting that social class may be linked to work meaning due to increased volition and decreased financial constraints.
This study examined the endorsement of three different sources of a calling—external summons, destiny, and perfect fit—and how the endorsement of these sources related to levels of living a calling, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction. With a sample of 200 employed adults, participants were asked to select a source group that best described where their calling originated. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant differences among the three primary source groups on levels of living a calling, job satisfaction, or life satisfaction. However, group membership was a significant moderator in the relation of living a calling to life satisfaction. Specifically, the relation of living a calling to life satisfaction was more pronounced for participants endorsing a destiny belief than for those endorsing other sources. Overall, results indicate that as long as workers feel they are living out their calling, the source of their calling matters little in terms of how calling links to job and life satisfaction.
Using social cognitive career theory (SCCT), the present study examined the role of parental support and investigative learning experiences (i.e., performance accomplishments, verbal persuasion, vicarious influence, physiological arousal) in the development of math/science interests among high school students of color (N = 206). Results of structural equation modeling analyses suggested the hypothesized model adequately fit the data. Parental support significantly predicted each learning experience variable, with the exception of physiological arousal. Performance accomplishments were the only learning experience variable that predicted both math/science self-efficacy and math/science outcome expectations. Self-efficacy significantly predicted interests, but did not predict outcome expectations. Furthermore, outcome expectations did not predict interests. Mediation tests indicated that performance accomplishments, vicarious learning, and self-efficacy mediated relationships between contextual and person-cognitive variables. Results are discussed in relation to SCCT and the development of career interests in math/science among underrepresented students.
Since its introduction, Schein’s Career Orientations Inventory (COI) has been widely used to assess and advise individuals who are making both initial and specialty career choices. Employed by both practitioners and researchers, the COI was designed to identify the person’s "career anchors," also known as their career identities. Individuals are expected to have the highest job satisfaction and performance when their job specialization matches their career anchors. However, little published research has evaluated the psychometric properties of the COI. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis, calculated the subscale reliabilities, and correlated the career anchors with Holland’s career interests to examine its convergent and discriminant validities. In this article, we report on the psychometric properties of the COI based on our sample of 165 midcareer college graduates and make several suggestions on the use and interpretation of the COI.
The present study examined the role of goals in the relation between calling and life satisfaction in a diverse, adult sample. Building off the self-concordance model of goal progress, the current study explored whether career goal self-efficacy (CGSE) mediated the relation between calling and life satisfaction and whether this mediation was moderated by intrinsic, extrinsic, self-transcendence, or physical self goal aspirations. We found CGSE to partially mediate the relation between calling and life satisfaction. Additionally, self-transcendence goals and physical self goals moderated this mediation such that, for people high in calling, the mediation only existed for those with high self-transcendence goals or low physical self goals. These results suggest that people with callings may need to have self-transcendence goals and avoid physical self goals in order for the confidence in their ability to achieve career goals to mediate the relation between their sense of calling and life satisfaction. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
The current article examined the extent to which Western Protestant Work Ethic (PWE) and Eastern Confucian values would influence employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment in an East Asian culture. Based on survey data from 151 employees in Singapore, the study showed that these two values have distinct relationships with job-related attitudes. The PWE had significant relationships with affective, continuance, and normative organizational commitment, whereas the Confucian value dimensions of diligence and harmony were significantly related to job satisfaction and affective/normative commitment, respectively. Additional dominance analysis revealed that Confucian harmony was more useful in predicting affective commitment, whereas PWE was more useful in predicting normative commitment. The cultural validity of the PWE and the cultural specificity of the Confucian values are discussed along with practical implications of the research findings.
The aim of this study was to present the initial validation of a new questionnaire, the Transition to Retirement Questionnaire (TRQ) and to study its relationship with resistance to change and personality dimensions. Based on Schlossberg’s typology of the retired, the TRQ is designed to assess five dimensions related to personal perceptions of transition to retirement, retirement, and personal plans and activities. The sample consisted of 1,054 professionally active or retired adults from the Swiss French-speaking Canton of Vaud. Exploratory principal components and confirmatory factor analyses highlighted a five-factor solution that fit coherently with Schlossberg’s typology. Moreover, TRQ dimensions were related to resistance to change tendencies and personality dimensions. The TRQ seems to be an interesting tool for use in research but also for interventions with young retirees or people preparing for retirement.
The purpose of this longitudinal study was to determine whether the degree of science interests and educational aspirations in students’ first year of university would significantly differentiate those students who graduated with a science major from those students who did not graduate with a science major. Moreover, the authors expected that educational aspirations would moderate the relation between science interests and graduating with/without a science major. First-year college students in introductory science courses were surveyed in their first semester and then again upon graduation. These 166 students’ science interests and educational aspirations were assessed at Time 1; their educational major was assessed upon graduation. The findings supported both hypotheses. Science interests and educational aspirations significantly differentiated whether or not students graduated with science majors. Moreover, the interaction of science interests and educational aspirations also significantly differentiated whether or not students graduated with a science major. In short, students who graduated with science majors, compared to their counterparts who graduated with nonscience majors, had significantly higher interests only when they also had higher educational aspirations.
The Subjective Science Attitude Change Measures (SSACM; Stake & Mares, 2001) represent a collection of useful self-report tools for assessing change in high school students’ science attitudes as a function of a given motivational intervention. Despite the survey’s utility, little work has been done to examine this tool among other samples (i.e., college students) or to test the psychometric properties and overall construct validity of SSACM scores. Participants (N = 1,368) consisted of undergraduate students enrolled in biology, chemistry, and physics laboratory classes. Analysis of the SSACM’s factor structure using exploratory structural equation modeling indicated support for a bifactor structure consisting of one general science motivation factor and three specific factors labeled intrinsic science interest, science career identity, and science self-efficacy. This model outperformed alternative bifactor and specific two- and three-factor models. Results largely yielded evidence of concurrent validity, as three of the four scale scores were significant positive predictors of relevant outcomes over and above the contribution of gender, parental occupation type, and mastery motivation. Implications for science career counseling and assessment are discussed.
The current study examined the role of work volition within social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) with a sample of 292 undergraduate students in science-related majors. Students with higher levels of volition endorsed higher levels of science self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, and goals. Analyses revealed that work volition was a significant moderator in the link of self-efficacy and outcomes expectations and self-efficacy and goals; stronger links were found in students with lower levels of volition. A structural model was tested with all hypothesized SCCT paths and examined whether work volition continued to moderate these two paths. The model was an excellent fit to the data, and all theorized direct and indirect effects were significant. However, in the full model, work volition was no longer a significant moderator, suggesting that the direction and strength of the relations within the SCCT model are equivalent for students at varying levels of work volition. Practical implications are discussed.
The present study examined whether college students who have academic majors that are incongruent with their career aims experience diminished career development. Because the value placed on self-expression differs across cultures, we tested hypotheses in both the United States (N = 301) and South Korea (N = 200). Similar proportions of American (20.2%) and South Korean students (25.5%) reported having an incongruent major. In both samples, students with incongruent majors reported significantly lower levels of career decision self-efficacy, meaningful work, and calling, with medium effect sizes. Potential moderators and mediator in the link of major incongruence to calling and meaningful work were also examined. The patterns of relations among major incongruence and career development indicators (i.e., career decision self-efficacy, meaningful work, and calling) did not differ by nationality or the levels of collectivism, indicating no significant moderating effects. Career decision self-efficacy was found to partially mediate the relation of major incongruence to calling and meaningful work in both samples. These results indicate that major incongruence relates to lower sense of calling and meaningful work in part because of decreased career decision self-efficacy. Directions for future research are discussed.
This study implemented an innovative model of individual Strengths-Based Career Counseling (SBCC), as carried out by vocational counseling psychologists, and measured its impact on unemployed job seekers. As part of a quasi-randomized pre–post intervention study, career counseling clients completed self-esteem, career exploration, strengths use, and life satisfaction scales prior to the initial counseling session (T1) and immediately following the final session (T2). A follow-up was carried out at 3 months postcounseling (T3). At baseline, the SBCC sample (N = 31) and the conventional career counseling sample (N = 30) were statistically similar on the measured variables. As hypothesized, at postcounseling, only the SBCC sample demonstrated enhanced self-esteem. Both the client samples reported enhanced daily use of strengths and unchanged career exploration and life satisfaction. However, precounseling strengths use predicted enhanced postcounseling self-esteem only among the SBCC clients. At the 3-month follow-up, the strengths-based sample assigned a higher rating to the counseling contribution and reported a higher rate of employment (80.6%) than did the comparison group (60%). Implications for career counseling with unemployed clients were discussed.
In two studies, we assessed the effectiveness of a careers in psychology course in increasing students’ career decision self-efficacy, and the role of increased career decision self-efficacy in predicting motivation as well as course, and major satisfaction. Students completed assignments involving career self-exploration, planning future semesters, resume creation, job search, interviewing a professional in the field, exploring subfields, visiting a research lab, and internship opportunities. In Study 1, paired-sample t-tests for 79 students revealed significant increases in career decision self-efficacy. In Study 2, at pretest and posttest, 226 students completed measures of career decision self-efficacy, self-determined motivation, career information, course, and major satisfaction. Regression analyses indicated that career self-efficacy explained significant variance in self-determined motivation, course, and major satisfaction. Further, perceived gains in career information mediated the relationship between increased career self-efficacy and self-determined motivation, course, and major satisfaction. Finally, assignments providing concrete professional experiences predicted increases in career self-efficacy.
The current study examines the role of meaning in life with respect to career indecision and state anxiety in a sample of 229 university students. This article seeks to build upon the career indecision literature by examining the role of meaning in life. An existential model of career indecision was applied in order to provide a theoretical framework for the relationship between career indecision and anxiety. Measures include the Career Decision Scale (Osipow, Carney, Winer, Yanico, & Koschier, 1976), the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006), and the State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (Ree, MacLeod, French, & Locke, 2000). Presence of meaning in life mediated the relationships between career indecision and anxiety. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that the search for meaning in life moderates the relationship between career indecision and anxiety. Future research and practical implications are also discussed.
This study aimed to examine how variables from a social cognitive model of job satisfaction—goal progress, self-efficacy, perceived organizational support, and positive affect—predicted the job satisfaction of Turkish teachers. Additionally, the study investigated the extent to which these relations differed according to school level. Study participants comprised 500 teachers (73% women and 27% men) employed by state schools at various levels in Ankara, Turkey, with an average of 19 years of teaching experience. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed teacher job satisfaction to be significantly and positively predicted by perceived organizational support, goal progress, and positive affect. There was also a significant interaction between school type and goal progress and a significant interaction between school type and perceived organizational support. For elementary school teachers, perceived organizational support was more highly related to satisfaction than for high school teachers and especially secondary school teachers. For secondary school teachers, goal progress was more highly related to job satisfaction than for high school teachers, and especially elementary teachers. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
The current study examines the relationship between individual differences in entrepreneurship and vocational interests in a sample of 565 adults. Specifically, it investigates associations between vocational interests (as assessed by Holland’s realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional model), entrepreneurial potential (as assessed by measure of entrepreneurial tendencies and abilities [META]), and entrepreneurial activity, both within and outside organizations. Results reveal predictable associations between Holland’s taxonomy of vocational interests and entrepreneurial outcomes. Incremental validity tests show that Holland’s vocational interests predict entrepreneurial activity even when entrepreneurial potential and demographic variables are taken into account. Furthermore, structural equation modeling indicates that META is the strongest and most consistent predictor of entrepreneurial activity. Practical and theoretical implications for vocational guidance and career assessment are considered.
Hemisity refers to binary thinking and behavioral style differences between right and left brain-oriented individuals. The inevitability of hemisity became clear when it was discovered by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that an anatomical element of the executive system was unilaterally embedded in either the right or the left side of the ventral gyrus of the anterior cingulate cortex in an idiosyncratic manner that was congruent with an individual’s inherent hemisity subtype. Based upon the MRI-calibrated hemisity of many individuals, a set of earlier biophysical and questionnaire hemisity assays was calibrated for accuracy and found appropriate for use in the investigation of the hemisity of individuals and groups. It had been reported that a partial sorting of individuals into hemisity right and left brain-oriented subgroups occurred during the process of higher education and professional development. Here, these results were extended by comparison of the hemisity of a putative unsorted population of 1,049 high school upper classmen, with that of 228 university freshmen. These hemisity outcomes were further compared with that of 15 university librarians, here found to be predominantly left brain-oriented, and 91 academically trained musicians, including 47 professional pianists, here found to be mostly right brainers. The results further supported the existence of substantial hemisity selection occurring during the process of higher education and in professional development.
This article explores the role of selected work-based constructs and social support in the prediction of school engagement in a sample of Italian high school students. A total of 137 high school students from Central Italy completed measures of social support (including teacher, peer, and parental support), career decision-making satisfaction, career planfulness, and school engagement, each of which had been translated to Italian from English. The results reveal that high levels of career decision-making satisfaction, career planfulness, and teacher support were statistically significant predictors of school engagement. The findings are discussed in relation to career development theory, educational and counseling practice, and prevention.
This study aimed to develop and validate two Portuguese versions of the Work–Family Conflict Scale (WFCS) and the Work–Family Enrichment Scale (WFES), testing for its factor structure validity, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender. Both WFCS and WFES were translated according to the guidelines of the International Test Commission and tested with two Portuguese samples of working parents, involved in dual-earner relationships. The validation of these two scales was established by confirming the dimensionality of their structures (first- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses) and demonstrating the good discriminant validity, convergent validity, and internal consistency of its subscales. Finally, for both WFCS and WFES, a two-group measurement procedure allowed to demonstrate their measurement invariance across gender.
The Strengths Self-Efficacy scale (SSES) was developed to allow career counselors, educators, and researchers to assess individuals’ perceived abilities to build their personal strengths and apply them in their daily life. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted with 275 adults and resulted in one factor: general strengths self-efficacy. The internal consistency was .96 and SSES was weakly related to social desirability. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed using another sample of 302 adults, and results verified the one-factor structure. The results suggested that the 11-item SSES demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .95) and that SSES scores were moderately related to self-esteem and life satisfaction and weakly related to social desirability. Finally, a test–retest reliability analysis on a sample of 36 adults indicated that SSES scores were stable over a 3-week period. Implications for career counseling and mental health practices as well as research applications of this new measure were discussed.
The purpose of the present research was to provide additional evidence for the construct validity of Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, and Erez’s Job Embeddedness Questionnaire (JEQ). While most studies have focused on building the nomological network of job embeddedness with organizationally relevant outcomes, scant research has focused attention on the psychometric properties of the JEQ. To this end, this study explores the meta-analytic relationships of the JEQ with job satisfaction and organizational commitment measures to help build additional evidence for the discriminant validity of the job embeddedness construct. Results revealed that the organizational dimensions of links, fit, and sacrifice and job satisfaction measures have differential relationships with perceived desirability and ease of movement variables thereby lending support to the construct validity of the JEQ. In addition, the content and factorial validity of the JEQ was examined using a cross-industry, multioccupational sample from 542 respondents. Results indicated that while the three-factor model for both organizational and community embeddedness had the best fit to the data, other psychometric properties were somewhat questionable. Recommendations were provided to refine the current operationalization of the JEQ and to expand the nomological network of job embeddedness by exploring predictors and outcomes of individual dimensions of organizational embeddedness and community embeddedness.
This study investigates the relationships among gender role orientation (i.e., masculinity and femininity), psychological capital (PsyCap), and subjective career success. Based on gender role theory, we predict that masculinity has a stronger effect on an individual’s job and career satisfaction than femininity does. We also expect that PsyCap mediates the relationships between gender role orientation and the outcome variables. A data set collected from 362 Chinese employees was used to test the hypotheses. The results of regression analyses show that the effect of masculinity on job and career satisfaction is stronger than that of femininity. Additionally, both masculinity and femininity are positively related to an individual’s level of PsyCap. The various components of PsyCap, including self-efficacy, hope, and optimism, are found to play different roles in mediating the relationships between gender role orientation and job and career satisfaction.
In this study, the authors focused on the context of physical disabilities (i.e., one’s age when a disability manifests and the severity with which it impacts major life activities) to better understand how disabilities influence vocational self-efficacies. Consistent with Social Cognitive Career Theory, age of onset moderated the relationship between disability severity and self-efficacies in the Realistic, Artistic, Social, and Conventional vocational domains. Specifically, disability severity had a strong, negative impact on self-efficacies for people who became physically disabled later in life. In contrast, the relationship between disability severity and self-efficacy was nonsignificant for people who became disabled in early childhood. These findings held across Holland’s Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional domains when controlling for a variety of other person inputs and domain-specific learning experiences.
Intake summaries and progress notes written by counseling trainees were examined to determine the extent to which work or academically related problems are discussed in counseling sessions when clients present with distress attributed to work or academic problems and personal concerns. Content analysis revealed that work or academically related problems were rarely discussed. The notes were also examined to explore factors or processes that distract counselors from addressing work or academically related problems in counseling sessions when clients indicated problems in work or academic area. Relational problems were found to be the most common topic that was likely to have distracted counselors from addressing work or academic problems. Finally, the data also revealed failure to integrate work and academic areas with discussions of personal concerns.
This longitudinal study investigated ambivalence during and after the decision in favor of a field of study or apprenticeship in 220 German high school graduates. In addition, participants underwent measurements of career decision-making self-efficacy, neuroticism, conscientiousness, current satisfaction with life as well as satisfaction with the chosen training. On average, we found low to moderate levels of ambivalence during and after career decision making. Analyses showed that ambivalence in career decision making is negatively linked to both current satisfaction with life and satisfaction with the chosen training. Furthermore, the finding of significant predictors of ambivalence during and after career decision making revealed a useful basic approach for further career-choice research as well as suggestions for the development of prevention and intervention programs for ambivalent persons.
This study tested for the measurement equivalence of a four-factor measure of career indecision (Career Indecision Profile–65 [CIP-65]) between a U.S. sample and two international samples; one composed of French-speaking young adults from France and Switzerland and the other of Italian adolescents. Previous research had supported the four-factor structure of the CIP-65 in both the United States and Iceland but also showed that items on two of the four scales may be interpreted differently by young adults growing up in these two countries. This study extends previous research by testing whether the four CIP-65 factors are measured equivalently in two additional international samples. Results largely supported the configural and metric invariance of the CIP-65 in the United States and international samples, but several scales showed a lack of scalar invariance. Some explanations are offered for these findings along with suggestions for future research and implications for practice.
Following the suggestions of National Institute of Education and American Psychological Association Standards, this article addresses the issue of differential validity and differential prediction in the vocational interest domain as one major concern of test fairness. In order to investigate potential prediction bias in vocational interest measures, we first compare gender-specific validity coefficients for the prediction of person–environment fit and satisfaction to test for differential validity, and second, we examine gender differences in the slopes and intercepts of the regression model predicting person–environment fit to test for differential prediction. Results show evidence of differential validity and some indications of differential prediction in a standard Holland Interest Inventory. However, removing items showing large gender-specific differential item functioning, that is, controlling for measurement bias, slightly reduced prediction bias. Practical implications are discussed and further research objectives are suggested.
This study examined a model in which the anxious and the avoidant forms of insecure attachment were related to career indecision through the mediation of self-criticism. One hundred seventy-three college students completed questionnaires measuring anxious and avoidant dimensions of insecure attachment, self-criticism, and career indecision. Path analysis indicated that avoidant attachment was indirectly related to career indecision through the full mediation of self-criticism and that the linkage between anxious attachment and career indecision was partially mediated by self-criticism. These findings advance the understanding of how internalized relationships with significant others may impact career planning and development, suggesting distinct mechanisms by which the anxious and the avoidant forms of insecure attachment may exacerbate career decision making. In addition, the findings highlight the centrality of self-criticism in the process of career decision making. Implications for the career decision-making process and career planning are suggested, and recommendations for career counseling interventions are presented.
Holland’s RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional) career theory is generally recognized as one of the most important and influential in the field of career development and vocational psychology. We examined data that might verify such an observation, and we used bibliographic research tools to identify all of the publications from 1953 to 2011 on this theory. We categorized the number of citations into five areas: (a) application of the theory in practice, (b) research and practice directed to specific populations (e.g., K–12, age, occupation), (c) tools or instruments operationalizing the theory, (d) validity and efficacy of RIASEC theory, and (e) diverse populations studied in terms of ethnicity, disability, and status. We located a total of 1,970 reference citations to Holland’s theory and applications during the 58-year period, and this article describes the methods, findings, and implications of this research.
Personal attributes such as interests and values are typically combined as part of an integrated career assessment to help clients examine, clarify, and integrate self-knowledge. Although most researchers agree there should be some relationship between these constructs, the empirical evidence is scarce and yields mixed results. The relationships between career interests (as measured by the Choices Interest Profiler) and work values (as measured by the Choices Work Value Sorter) were examined in this study using a sample of 57,032 individuals. Results showed good internal consistency reliabilities for career interests (all αs above .93), but extremely poor internal consistency reliabilities for work values (five of the six were negative). The low reliabilities for work values were due to the ideographic model for measuring work values. It is proposed that measuring work values nomothetically (as abilities and interests are measured) would improve the psychometric properties of values scales and make them more useful in career guidance. As would be expected, the correlations between career interests and work values were all close to zero.
We examined the role of self-reported effort in predicting chemistry and physics achievement after controlling for prior achievement, gender, and mathematics/science self-efficacy and interest. The data were collected from two Asian Indian high school samples. Self-reported effort was hypothesized to be the most salient predictor of achievement, given its important role in the Asian Indian culture. Based on prior findings, it was also hypothesized that gender would moderate the effect of interest on achievement. Both hypotheses were supported. After other key variables were controlled (prior achievement, gender, and mathematics/science self-efficacy and interest), self-reported effort was a significant predictor of both chemistry achievement and physics achievement. Moreover, gender did moderate the relation of interest and achievement. Boys who were more interested in physics and chemistry achieved higher scores, but girls’ level of interest did not correlate with their achievement.
In a sample of 346 college students, we compared students of different academic major areas in their personality characteristics, mental abilities, and vocational interests, and we examined the congruence between vocational interests and academic major as a predictor of academic outcomes (grade point average, satisfaction, and change of major). Results were mainly consistent with predicted differences between the four academic major groups (arts/humanities, business, science, and helping/child related), and several of the observed differences were moderately large. However, congruence between interests and major was unrelated to academic outcomes.
Person–organization (P–O) fit has attracted much attention as an important workplace and career variable, but there is little consensus regarding conceptualization, operationalization, and the criteria used to measure it. Values congruence, personality congruence, knowledge–skills–abilities, and goal congruence are recognized as separate aspects of P–O fit, and have been identified as predictors of work attitudes and behaviors. The present study reports on the development and initial validation of a perceived goal congruence scale that can be used to measure perceptions of similarity between employee and organizational goals, which has not been studied previously. Initial items were administered to 895 employees of a manufacturing company in Indonesia. Exploratory factor analyses identified a single factor, which was confirmed on a holdout sample using confirmatory factor analysis. Construct validity was demonstrated by testing correlations between the new scale and attitudinal variables of job satisfaction, intention to quit, and organizational commitment. Structural validity was demonstrated by showing that perceived goal congruence was independent from, and explained additional variance over and above, the other measures of fit.
Work stressors are related to poor psychological detachment (i.e., mentally "switching off") from work during nonwork time, which in turn is related to low levels of recovery and health. This article examines two general personality orientations, attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety, and one vocation-specific personality tendency, overcommitment, as buffers of the work stressors–psychological detachment relationship. Survey data were collected from a sample of Israeli employees (N = 210) and their significant others (N = 109) to avoid same-source bias of psychological detachment assessments. Analyses showed that attachment avoidance moderated the negative association between workload and psychological detachment (self-reported), but attachment anxiety did not moderate the associations of role conflict and role ambiguity with psychological detachment. Overcommitment was a full mediator between job stressors (workload and role conflict) and psychological detachment. This study demonstrates the importance of personality, especially vocational personality, in the work stressor–psychological detachment relationship.
The purpose of this study is to determine the validity of the work engagement construct among mentally ill workers and to develop a nomological network delineating the relationship of work engagement with its antecedents, and its consequences in this specific population. Three hundred and ten people with mental disorders employed in Italian social enterprises accepted to take part in this longitudinal study and filled out the Utrecht Work Engagement scale (UWES-9) and questionnaires on severity of symptoms perceived, social support from coworkers and supervisor, and occupational self-efficacy. Individuals who were still eligible at the 12-month follow-up phase of the study completed a questionnaire on future working plans. Confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis were used to validate the UWES-9 and test its nomological network. The results indicated how work engagement, as well as its drivers, impacted important work outcomes, such as to work in the open labor market, in workers with mental disorders.
This study analyzed the role of working alliance in individual career counseling. The level of career decision difficulties and satisfaction with life of 188 clients was assessed at the beginning and at the end of career counseling. Clients’ perceived working alliance was assessed after the third session, and their satisfaction with the intervention (SWI) was assessed at the end of the intervention. Results showed that working alliance (1) moderated the decrease of lack of career information, (2) predicted SWI, and (3) played a mediator role in the decrease of inconsistent career information. The study confirmed the importance of relational factors in career counseling, particularly of the client–counselor agreement about intervention goals and tasks.
Career decision making continues to be a major area of research, particularly related to the factors that influence the construct. The purpose of this study was to examine a hypothesized model predicting the relationships between career decision-making difficulties and perceived belongingness, specifically peer and family belongingness. Participants included 436 undergraduates, who completed measures of belongingness, psychological distress, academic motivation, and career decision-making difficulties. The researchers conjectured that peer and family belongingness would each be indirectly associated with career decision-making difficulties as mediated by academic motivation and psychological distress. Overall, fit indices supported the hypothesized model but indicated different outcomes for family and peer belongingness. Family belongingness was significantly related to career decision-making difficulties, while peer belonging was not significantly associated to any variable in the hypothesized model. Practical implications are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.
The most recent economic downshift demands that researchers gain a better understanding of the type of decisions individuals are making regarding work and the basis for those decisions. The state of the economy over the past few years warrants further examination, as the economic downturn has resulted in a dramatic shift in the availability of jobs in the workforce. The current study examined the impact of the economic downturn on the emotional and cognitive processing of individuals in regard to the decisions they make about work in two separate studies (N = 179 and N = 82), using two measures (Perceptions of Economy [POE] scale and Work Decisions scale) that allowed us to assess economic perceptions and work-related decisions quantitatively. Results indicated support for the instruments and that POEs account for 5% of the variance in work-related decisions.
The current study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy scale–Short Form (CDSES-SF) in a sample of 695 Turkish university students. Accordingly, internal reliability, test–retest reliability, convergent validity, and factor structure of the CDSES-SF were examined. The results indicated high internal and test–retest reliability for total scores. The evidence for the convergent validity was provided by a relatively high correlation between career decision-making self-efficacy and general self-efficacy. To estimate the factor structure of the scale, Betz, Klein, and Taylor’s five-factor model of the CDSES-SF, along with a number of empirically derived measurement models of the CDSES-SF were tested via confirmatory factor analyses. Only Gaudron’s four-factor model exhibited good model fit for the Turkish sample. The findings of this study are discussed in accordance with previous studies and the current cultural context of Turkey.
This study compared the congruence between chosen occupation and vocational personality with the congruence between chosen occupation and parent’s occupation, investigating the effects of regulatory focus, career self-efficacy, and parental support. Gender differences were also explored. A sample of 260 undergraduate students completed questionnaires measuring their own and their parent’s vocational personality type, the quality of the parent–child relationship, and their own career self-efficacy and regulatory focus. Vocational congruence was calculated by C-index. The results show that regulatory focus of promotion and both low and high self-efficacy were related to a significantly higher level of congruence between chosen occupation and vocational personality than between chosen occupation and parent’s occupation. However, none of the variables was found to explain the level of congruence between vocational personality and chosen occupation, and no relationship was found between vocational congruence and satisfaction with the chosen profession. The findings indicate the importance of vocational inclinations over parental influence and personality traits in occupational choice. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
We examined the relative effectiveness of information giving (IG) and therapeutic assessment (TA) models of career assessment feedback in reducing career indecision. Clients initiating career counseling at a large Midwestern University completed measures of career choice anxiety (CCA), vocational identity, and career decision-making self-efficacy prior to and following a two-session intervention. We also administered measures of treatment integrity and session helpfulness immediately following treatment. Clients were randomly assigned to an intervention based upon either an IG or TA model of assessment feedback. Results indicated that TA participants’ vocational identity scores improved significantly more than those of IG participants; a medium-to-large effect size was identified. TA and IG participants’ CCA and decision-making self-efficacy scores significantly increased but not differentially following treatment. Participants of both groups rated their feedback sessions as "greatly helpful." We discuss implications for career assessment as well as the limitations of the study.
Historically, women have been underrepresented in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields both as college majors and in the professional community. This disturbing trend, observed in many countries, is more serious and evident in American universities and is reflected in the U.S. workforce statistics. In this article, we examine historical students’ interest data in order to further the understanding of this discrepancy and to suggest methods to reverse this trend. Thirty years of historical ACT data were analyzed by expressed interest patterns, ACT scores, gender, and intended college major or career aspiration. Statistical package for the social sciences software was used to analyze the data and examine the historical trends of students’ expressed interest in STEM-related careers. Results show that there is a significant (although expected) discrepancy between the number of male and female students who expressed interest in engineering majors and careers. Significant changes have also been observed in the interest in engineering fields over time, most likely because of societal influences. These influences are most profound in computer-related fields, causing speculation that both males and females were influenced by the dot com era but that only male interest was piqued due to the rise of computer gaming in the late 1990s. Students are further grouped into three categories—well prepared (ACT ≥ 28), under prepared (27 ≤ ACT ≥ 19), and unprepared (ACT < 19). Of the total number of students who expressed interest in engineering majors, there are many who appear either completely unprepared or relatively under prepared for the demands of these fields. Data show that female students who expressed interest in STEM fields are generally in the well-prepared category; the discrepancy between those who are interested but under prepared is greater in males than females. Results from this analysis demonstrate the importance of earlier interventions to encourage students who still have enough time to get prepared for opportunities that interest them. It is also probable that students are making assumed career choices based on little or no data and may actually find their interest waning very quickly (thus making them a retention risk if they are admitted to an engineering program). This study, therefore, provides a better understanding of gender, societal influences, and ability disparities in high school students who expressed interest in engineering majors and careers. Obtained results suggested some of what needs to be done and could be used to guide future efforts in order to reverse the current trends of gender disparity and lack of female interest in engineering fields.
Contemporary researchers suggest that working is a relational act. Accordingly, literature reflects increasing interest in the relevance of attachment theory to vocational and organizational phenomena. In the current study, we focused on associations of avoidant attachment orientation (characterized by obsessive self-reliance), anxious attachment orientation (characterized by overdependence), and a central job characteristic (job autonomy) with work-related attitudes and emotions (work engagement, career commitment, work burnout, and emotional distress). Results from 150 Israeli employees revealed significant associations between avoidant attachment and all work-related outcomes, while anxiety was associated only with work burnout and emotional distress. Job autonomy was associated with all work-related outcomes, and although attachment anxiety and avoidance were not associated with job autonomy, the interactions between avoidance and job autonomy (but not the interactions between anxiety and job autonomy) significantly contributed to explained variance of all work outcomes. Simple slope analyses showed significant associations between avoidance and work-related outcomes in high job autonomy conditions and nonsignificant associations in low job autonomy conditions, surprisingly suggesting that high job autonomy specifically disadvantages highly avoidant employees. Theoretical and practical implications for organizations and for attachment theory at work are discussed.
Career counselors are often concerned with stability and likelihood of implementation of clients’ career intentions. It is often assumed that the status in career decision making (CDM) is one likely indicator; yet, empirical support for this assumption is sparse. The present study focused on entrepreneurial career intentions (EI) and showed that German university students (N = 1,221), with high EI can be found in very different empirically derived CDM statuses that range from preconcern to mature decidedness. Longitudinal analyses (n = 561) showed that career choice foreclosure (high decidedness/low exploration) related to more EI stability and that mature decidedness (high decidedness/high exploration) amplified effects of EI on opportunity identification, a form of EI actualization. The results imply that CDM statuses are useful to estimate stability and actualization of career intentions.
This study examined the predictive utility of Lent and Brown’s social cognitive model of educational and work well-being with a sample of Asian American college students, indexing well-being in terms of academic and social domain satisfaction. In addition, we examined the role of acculturation and enculturation as culture-specific predictors of domain satisfaction. Participants were 122 Asian American college students who completed measures of domain-specific environmental support, self-efficacy, goal progress, and satisfaction, along with global measures of behavioral acculturation and enculturation. Path analyses indicated that the modified social cognitive model, including the two cultural variables, provided good fit to the data and accounted for substantial portions of the variance in academic and social satisfaction. Both acculturation and enculturation were linked to domain satisfaction indirectly through their relation to perceived environmental support. This suggests that students who actively engage both in Asian and in mainstream cultures are more likely to access environmental support, which in turn is linked to self-efficacy, goal progress, and domain satisfaction. The present findings offer preliminary support for the cross-cultural validity of the social cognitive model with Asian American college students and suggest ways in which the model’s variables may operate jointly with culture-specific variables. Implications for future research and practice are considered.
The purpose of the present research was to develop an original self-report questionnaire to assess the structure of the reasons underlying the retirement decision process among French entrepreneurs using the push pull anti-push anti-pull view. Three studies were conducted to examine the reliability and validity of the Reasons for Entrepreneurs’ Retirement Decision Inventory (RERDI). The first study involved creating a list of items leading to a preliminary version of the RERDI. In the second study, 167 French entrepreneurs were surveyed to test the factor structure of the RERDI and to select the final items leading to a 16-item inventory. This tool comprises four reliable subscales: (a) push, (b) pull, (c) anti-push, and (d) anti-pull, with adequate internal consistency. Using confirmatory factor analysis, this four-factor structure was confirmed in the third study (n = 255). The RERDI’s convergent validity and temporal stability were also confirmed. The importance of this inventory for further research and practice is discussed.
We used two studies to evaluate, modify, and provide initial validation for a revised Academic Hardiness scale. First, 16 experts rated scale items for content validity and identified two problematic questions. Second, confirmatory factor analyses with 300 Grade 10 students (46% boys, age range 14–17) identified a 17-item version to be the best fit. Construct validity was demonstrated by testing correlations between this revised scale and academic achievement (spelling, reading, and mathematics) and student self-evaluations (competencies, self-efficacy, and self-worth). Predictive validity was supported by showing that the scale differentiated between students who enrolled in academic and nonacademic streams, and differentiated between students who completed their course and those who did not. We failed to identify a second-order factor for hardiness, suggesting (a) that hardiness should be interpreted at the subscale, rather than at the global level, and (b) that the hardiness construct might need to be reconsidered for adolescents.
This study introduced an individual difference construct of willingness to compromise and examined its implications for understanding and predicting career-related decisions in work settings. In Study 1 (N = 53), critical incidents of career decisions were analyzed to identify commonalities across different types of career-related compromises. In Study 2 (N = 171), an initial 17-item scale was developed and revised. In Study 3 (N = 201), the convergent and criterion-related validity of the scale was examined in relation to specific personality traits, regret, dealing with uncertainty, career adaptability, and a situational dilemma task. Willingness to compromise was negatively related to neuroticism, and positively related to dealing with uncertainty, openness to experience, and career adaptability; it also predicted responses to the situational dilemma task. Results provided support for the reliability and validity of the scale.