Major Incongruence and Career Development Among American and South Korean College Students

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.

Increased Career Self-Efficacy Predicts College Students’ Motivation, and Course and Major Satisfaction

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.

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form With Turkish University Students

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.

Predicting Occupational Congruence

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.

The relationship of career decision self-efficacy, trait anxiety, and affectivity among undergraduate students

This study examined the relationship between career decision self-efficacy and personal-emotional life, including trait anxiety and positive and negative affect in a sample of 249 undergraduate students. Turkish versions of career decision self-efficacy scale-short form, positive and negative affect schedule, and trait anxiety inventory were administrated. Higher career decision self-efficacy was associated with higher positive affectivity and lower trait anxiety and negative affectivity. Trait anxiety and positive affect were the significant predictors of career decision self-efficacy. Implications for career counseling and ideas for future research were discussed.

Contributions of Social Status and Family Support to College Students’ Career Decision Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectations

The purpose of this study was to better understand the roles of social status and family support in the career decision making of young adults in college. We tested a path model predicting career decision self-efficacy and career-related outcome expectations in a sample of 270 male and female undergraduate students. Predictor variables included family of origin socioeconomic status, perceived social status, perceived family support, and intentional family career-related interactions. The sample was randomly split into a calibration sample and a validation sample. Based on a path analysis with the calibration sample, the hypothesized model was modified, and a multiple group analysis was used to test for model invariance for the revised model. The results of this study suggest that both family status and family support are associated with social cognitive career development outcomes. Implications for both research and practice are discussed.

The Adaptability of Career Decision-Making Profiles

The present study investigated a new model for characterizing the way individuals make career decisions (career decision-making profiles [CDMP]). Using data from 285 students in a preacademic program, the present study assessed the association of the CDMP’s dimensions with the Emotional and Personality-related Career decision-making Difficulties questionnaire, the Career Decision-making Self-Efficacy scale, and the individuals’ decision status. The results suggest that comprehensive Information Gathering, analytic Information Processing, a more internal Locus of Control, much Effort Invested, less Procrastination, greater Speed of Making the Final Decision, less Dependence on Others, and less Desire to Please others were more adaptive in making career decisions. Contrary to our hypotheses, high Aspiration for an ideal occupation, and low Willingness to compromise were more adaptive for the decision-making process; no level of Consulting with others was particularly adaptive.

An Examination of the Structure of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale (Short Form) Among Italian High School Students

This study aims to evaluate the factor structure of Career Decision Self-Efficacy scale-short form in a sample of Italian high school adolescents. confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the degree to which a one-factor structure and a five-factor structure provided the best fit. In view of available research the five-factor structure was expected to provide the best fit. Moreover, factorial invariance in males and females was tested. It was expected to be invariant across groups. As expected the five-factor structure showed a better fit than the one-factor model and the factorial invariance resulted invariant across boys and girls.

Detrimental Relations of Maximization With Academic and Career Attitudes

Maximization refers to a decision-making style that involves seeking the single best option when making a choice, which is generally dysfunctional because people are limited in their ability to rationally evaluate all options and identify the single best outcome. The vocational consequences of maximization are examined in two samples, college students and working adults. After controlling for trait perfectionistic striving, highly maximizing students reported lower satisfaction and perceived fit with their majors, higher academic turnover cognitions, and lower career decision self-efficacy (Study 1). Similarly, highly maximizing adults reported less satisfaction and perceived fit with their jobs, higher employment turnover cognitions, and less satisfaction with the progression of their careers (Study 2). In both studies, the relations of maximization and these outcomes were mediated by negative affect, pointing to feelings of regret and frustration as a mechanism that drives these negative appraisals. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Nancy E. Betz

Nancy E. Betz is a deeply respected pioneer in the areas of vocational psychology, the career development of women, and measurement and vocational assessment. Her scholarship in these areas is recognized nationally and internationally and dates to her early, innovative collaboration with Gail Hackett to apply Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy to understand the vocational behavior of women. This interview traces the life and career stories of Nancy Betz and in doing so illustrates the personal and contextual influences that shaped the person and professional she was to become. Nancy’s story is a powerful illustration of a number of central themes of counseling psychology, including the critical importance of scientific rigor, humanistic values, social influences, and diverse perspectives.

The Dimensionality of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form Among Chinese Graduate Students

The factorial structure of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form (CDSES-SF) was examined in a sample of 796 Chinese graduate students recruited from five universities in Beijing. A single-factor model is recommended on the basis of two of this study’s findings. First, confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the parsimonious single-factor model fit the data well as the competing multi-factor models did. Second, the original theoretical factors of the CDSES-SF were found to be highly homogeneous and to fail to demonstrate the necessary incremental validity over and beyond the total score. Consistent with the previous studies, the CDSES-SF was found to have sound internal consistency (α = .91). The implications of the current study are discussed.

Career Development Skills, Outcomes, and Hope Among College Students

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the utility of the Integrative Contextual Model of Career Development (ICM) to describe the career development behavior of college students was examined. Second, relationships among educational and career development skills (career exploration, person–environment fit, goal setting, social/prosocial/work readiness, self-regulated learning, and the utilization of emotional and instrumental support), educational and career development outcomes (self-efficacy, positive self-attributions, vocational identity, magnitude of vocational interests, and proactivity), and two components of hope (agency and pathways) among college students were explored. Results indicated that ICM is a useful model for college students and that the interrelated skills predicted the interrelated outcomes. The agency aspect of hope predicted both skills and outcomes; and skills or outcomes predicted agency. Pathways were not predictive of nor predicted by skills or outcomes. Suggestions about how these skills can be developed in college students are offered.

Development and Validation of the Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ) and Brief Calling Scale (BCS)

Research on work as a calling is limited by measurement concerns. In response, the authors introduce the multidimensional Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ) and the Brief Calling scale (BCS), instruments assessing presence of, and search for, a calling. Study 1 describes CVQ development using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in a cross-validated split-sample approach with 456 undergraduates. The CVQ contained six reliable subscales that form CVQ-Presence and CVQ-Search scores, which demonstrated moderate 1-month test–retest reliability, good fit to a six-factor structure, and initial support for construct validity. Study 2 reports a multitrait–multimethod analysis with 134 undergraduates and 365 informants. Self-reported CVQ and BCS scores moderately to strongly correlated with informant reports and scores for both instruments correlated in hypothesized directions with work hope, prosocial work motivation, life meaning, and the search for meaning. CVQ and BCS scores provide psychometrically sound measures of calling, with the CVQ offering the potential for more fine-grained, multidimensional analyses.

Linking Affective Commitment, Career Self-Efficacy, and Outcome Expectations

The authors tested a model based on the satisfaction model of social cognitive career theory (SCCT) that links college students’ affective commitment to their major (the emotional identification that students feel toward their area of study) with career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) and career outcome expectations. Results indicate that CDSE mediates the relationship between affective commitment to the major and career outcome expectations, specifically expected career performance and satisfaction. Further, students’ perception of abilities–demands fit with their major interacts with affective commitment to moderate these direct and indirect effects. The authors discuss these findings in light of SCCT and develop recommendations for career counselors and academic advisors based on their results.

The Career Futures Inventory–Revised

This study reports the development and initial validation of the Career Futures Inventory–Revised (CFI-R) in two large samples of university students. The 28-item CFI-R assesses aspects of career adaptability, including positive career planning attitudes, general outcome expectations, and components of Parsons’ tripartite model and Bandura’s personal agency. Results revealed five internally consistent subscales: career agency, occupational awareness, support, work–life balance, and negative career outlook. Changes from the original CFI include a measure of career agency, including content addressing self-awareness, control, and self-efficacy for managing career transitions; and measures of relational components. Convergent and discriminant validity of the CFI-R subscales were examined related to measures of career decision status, difficulties, and self-efficacy, as well as dispositional optimism and coping styles. The CFI-R can aid in the understanding of current attitudes toward a variety of career transitions and enhance the effectiveness of career counseling by addressing clients’ concerns in a changing occupational world.

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form Among French University Students

The purpose of the present study was to examine the reliability and the factor structure of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form (CDSES-SF) among French university students. Based on a sample of 650 respondents, the alpha coefficients indicated high reliability for total scores but not for the subscale scores with values of .70 and below. The test–retest reliability of the total scores was .81. The original and theoretical five-factor model demonstrated inadequate model fit. A four-factor model, which fixed 18 items to load only on latent factors labelled Goal Selection, Problem Solving, Information Gathering, and Goal Pursuit Management, provided an acceptable fit to the data. The results are discussed in the light of previous studies; suggestions for future research are proposed.

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale With Korean Students: A Rasch Model Approach

The Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale (CDSE) is one of the most frequently used in the field of career development and counseling. In this study, using the Rasch rating scale model analysis, the CDSE Scale was evaluated by the content, structural, and substantive aspects of validity in a sample of college students from South Korea. Overall, the 5-point Likert-type format response categories are suitable for the scale. In addition, most items, except three (17, 13, and 25), form a unidimensional trait based on the results from item-fit statistics and principle component analysis with standardized residuals. For those three differentiated items, the content evidence of the validity of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale—Short Form (CDSE-SF) is suggested for future research.

Controlled follow-up study of physical and psychosocial functioning of adolescents with juvenile primary fibromyalgia syndrome

OBJECTIVES

Currently, there are no prospective studies exploring the prognosis of patients with juvenile primary FM syndrome (JPFS) or their physical, emotional and social outcomes as they enter the early adult years. The primary objective of this study was to assess long-term outcomes of a paediatric sample of clinically referred JPFS patients and their matched healthy controls.

METHODS

Participants were 48 youths (current mean age = 19 years) diagnosed with JPFS in childhood or adolescence and 43 healthy controls matched in age, gender and race. The average length of follow-up was 3.67 years (range 2-6 years). Participants completed online (web-based) self-report questionnaires about current pain and physical symptoms, health status, anxiety, depressive symptoms and current and past treatments.

RESULTS

Results showed that 62.5% of participants in the JPFS group continued to experience widespread pain and 60.4% reported having all the cardinal features of FM syndrome (including widespread pain, poor sleep and fatigue) at follow-up. The JPFS group reported significantly lower scores on all measures of health status and physical functioning compared with healthy controls and significantly greater symptoms of anxiety and depression.

CONCLUSION

The results of this controlled follow-up study demonstrate that symptoms of FM appear to be chronic in a majority of clinically referred JPFS patients and the associated physical and emotional impairment can also be persistent. Implications for treatment and the need for further prospective longitudinal studies are discussed.

Development and Validation of the Family Influence Scale

This article describes the development and validation of the Family Influence Scale (FIS). The FIS is designed to assess perceptions of how one’s family of origin influences career and work choices. The purpose of Study 1 was to identify the domains of family influence. A 57-item scale was completed by a sample of 205 college students. Results supported a 32-item four-factor measure. The purpose of Study 2 was to refine the initial scale’s items and examine construct validity using a larger and more diverse sample (n = 537). Results supported a four-factor solution composed of the following sub-scales: Informational Support, Financial Support, Family Expectations, and Values/Beliefs. Findings also provided support for the internal consistency and construct validity of the scale.

An Examination of the Role of Attachment and Efficacy in Life Satisfaction

The study examined interrelationships between attachment, social self-efficacy, career decision-making self-efficacy, and life satisfaction. Social cognitive career theory and attachment theory were integrated to provide a framework for this study. A conceptual model was proposed and tested to determine if social self-efficacy and career decision self-efficacy were full or partial mediators between attachment and life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling methods were utilized to test the model. Findings indicated that social self-efficacy and career decision self-efficacy partially mediated between attachment and life satisfaction among college students, the majority of whom were Caucasian females. This lends support to the idea that adult attachment is a fundamental source of efficacy information and operates as a critical component in college students’ perceptions of their efficacy in the domains of close relationships and career decisions, both of which impact life satisfaction. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

A Test of the Tripartite Model of Career Indecision of Brown and Krane for African Americans Incorporating Emotional Intelligence and Positive Affect

Brown and Krane have posited a tripartite model of career indecision, which includes three higher order factors: negative affect, poor vocational identity development, and lack of career information. The purpose of this study was to examine the adequacy of their tripartite model of career indecision for African American students, considering that the samples used in the meta-analysis of Brown and Krane were predominantly Caucasian. With regard to recent research suggesting the importance of emotional intelligence for career development, this study also examined the presence and degree of relationship among positive affect, emotional intelligence, and the three factors in the model of Brown and Krane. A total of 171 participants from a Historically Black University completed a packet of career diagnostic assessments that included a measure of emotional intelligence. Factor analysis suggested that five factors (career self-efficacy, career-related emotional maturity, information needs, vocational identity development, and career decisional status) could be extracted to represent the constructs related to career decision making for African American students. Implications for career counseling are discussed with regard to viewing positive affect and emotional intelligence as an integral factor in the career decision-making process.

Parental Influences, Career Decision-Making Attributions, and Self-Efficacy

This study investigated the relations of maternal and paternal attachment, parenting styles, and career locus of control to college students’ career decision self-efficacy and explored whether these relations differed by student gender. Data analysis using hierarchical multiple regression revealed that attachment was relevant for females’ career decision self-efficacy but not for men’s. Authoritarian parenting styles were predictive of women’s career decision self-efficacy. Locus of control was important for male students but not for females.

A Confirmatory Test of the Factor Structure of the Short Form of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale

The present study tested a number of theoretically and empirically derived measurement models of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale—Short Form (CDSES-SF) using confirmatory factor analysis. Betz’s five-factor model of the CDSES-SF, along with a number of alternative models, demonstrated adequate model fit in two independent samples. Based on multisample analyses, 23 of 25 CDSES-SF items demonstrated metric invariance suggesting equivalence in the way in which items are interpreted across Asian and European American samples. Directions for future research are discussed.

Comparative Effectiveness of CAPA and FOCUS Online

The present study compared the effectiveness of two online career exploration systems in increasing the career decision self-efficacy and decidedness of 960 students enrolled in a program for undecided freshmen students at a large public university. Results indicated that both systems led to significant increases in career decision self-efficacy and college major decidedness in these students. The CAPA system, based on an integration of Bandura’s self-efficacy theory and traditional trait factor theory, led to proportionately greater increases in Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale scores in comparison to FOCUS for the total group and for women. The systems were comparably effective with African American, Asian American, and White students.

Constructivist Career Development as a Paradigm of Empowerment for At-Risk Culturally Diverse College Students

Although constructivist career theory is routinely discussed in the literature, links between theory and practice in education are lacking. The current study focused on the potential of a constructivist curriculum to empower at-risk culturally diverse college students by increasing career self-efficacy and reducing dysfunctional career thoughts. Using a pre/post-test design, 75 under-prepared undergraduates who were enrolled in six sections of a constructivist career course at a large Midwestern university completed the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale Short-Form (CDSE-SF) and the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI). The sample was 45% students of color and 55% White. Multivariate analysis of variance with follow-up univariate analyses revealed significantly higher CDSE-SF scores and significantly lower CTI scores. These results suggest that a constructivist career development course may be a viable educational vehicle for empowering at-risk culturally diverse college students by increasing career self-efficacy and decreasing self-defeating thoughts, particularly thoughts associated with decision-making confusion and commitment anxiety.

The Effectiveness of a Career Decision-Making Course

This study examined the effectiveness of a college career course designed to increase career decision-making confidence and facilitate career exploration. Participants were 73 students from a large Midwestern university (65.6% women, 34.4% men, mean age 18.56). Students were given questionnaires assessing career decision-making difficulties, career decision-making self-efficacy, and perception of career and educational barriers during the first and fifteenth weeks of the course. Repeated measures analyses were conducted to examine possible differences in students' responses before and after the course. Results indicated that on completion of the course students' career decision-making difficulties decreased, career self-efficacy increased, and perceptions of barriers did not change.

Career Development Strivings

This article describes and demonstrates a novel approach to assessing goals and motives among individuals engaged in the career decision-making and planning process. Participants generated five career development strivings, rated each striving along several dimensions (self-efficacy, outcome expectations, sense of calling, spiritual significance, and materialism), and completed measures of conceptually related and unrelated variables. Results indicated adequate to strong internal consistency reliability for the strivings appraisal scale scores, and the pattern of correlations support the convergent and discriminant validity for scores obtained using this approach. We conclude that the career development strivings strategy has great potential as a flexible and efficient tool for use in career development research and practice.