Career Indecision Among LGB College Students

Although several studies have examined the ways in which lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals experience difficulties with career decision-making, little is known about the impact of minority stressors on this integral process. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between minority stressors, LGB community connectedness, social support, and four facets of career indecision among LGB college students. Participants ( N = 270) were predominately White (53.7%), bisexual (57.8%), single (42.2%), and female (59.6%). Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that social support was protective against lack of readiness (β = −.39, p < .001) and interpersonal conflict (IPC; β = −.30, p < .001). Moreover, an interactive effect of internalized homonegativity and community affiliation was protective against IPC (β = −.22, p < .05). Implications for researchers and career counselors are discussed.

Understanding Career Aspirations Among Young Women

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.

Interactive Effects of Physical Disability Severity and Age of Disability Onset on RIASEC Self-Efficacies

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.

Career Paths for Managers in the Arts

In this article we examine the career paths of top-level managers in the arts. By analysing the training and work history of 23 managers in a variety of arts organisations we evaluate the utility of several existing theories for understanding careers that are characterised by low levels of initial knowledge, the absence of a clear method of entry and the influence of a central interest in artistic activity. Our findings show that while both boundaryless and protean models shed some light on the career trajectories of arts managers, theories based on personality and identity have a large part to play in explaining their choices. The factors describing patterns of movement exhibited by arts managers are likely to be applicable to other groups emerging into a less structured, rapidly changing employment context.