How is occupational identity affected by the family environment of publicly funded students in local normal colleges? A moderated mediation model

The occupational identity of local publicly funded students is associated with the stability of rural teachers. To discuss the influence mechanisms of family environment, psychological capital, and professional commitment on occupational identity, this study examined 395 local publicly funded students with the occupational identity scale, psychological capital scale, professional commitment scale compiled, and family environment scale in China. We found no significant difference in terms of sex, source of birth, only children or not, and from teachers' families or not. Junior students' occupational identity was significantly higher than that of freshmen. In addition, we found that psychological capital plays a total mediation role between family environment and occupational identity. Psychological capital explains the influence of family environment on occupational identity. While the moderating role of professional commitment on the family environment and psychological capital is not supported in this study, it positively moderates the mediation role of psychological capital and occupational identity. Overall, this study will be significant in improving the training quality of local publicly funded students.

A social cognitive perspective on occupational identity development in college students

Occupational identity is a central concept of career development, by providing a sense of direction and meaning across career development. This study aimed to examine how this concept can be associated with career processes through model formed by a set of socio-cognitive factors. The participants were 358 college students at a Brazilian university who completed measures of occupational identity, environmental supports and barriers, self-efficacy, goal progress, and academic satisfaction. Analysis indicates that the occupational identity status was partially well predicted by the combination of self-efficacy to cope with barriers, supports, academic satisfaction, and goal progress. These results highlight that students with a positive sense of competencies to deal with barriers and adequate levels of academic satisfaction would easily establish an occupational identity.

An Analysis of the Structural Relationships Among Parental Attachment, Basic Psychological Needs, Career Identity and Depression of Chinese College Students in Korea

Purpose

Research in the acculturation domain has noted the influence of parental attachment on depression among overseas students. However, an almost negligible effort has been made to investigate how it happens. This study aims to explore the relationship between parental attachment, basic psychological needs, career identity and depression of Chinese overseas students, while focusing on the mechanisms underlying such relationship.

Methods

A total of 335 Chinese overseas students were asked to fill out a questionnaire, and the data of these samples were utilized to test the moderated mediation hypotheses through SPSS and AMOS.

Results

The results indicate that parental attachment of Chinese overseas students has a negative effect on depression, while basic psychological needs play a part in mediating between parental attachment and depression. In addition, career identity moderates the mediating effect of basic psychological needs between parental attachment and depression.

Conclusion

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study has been one of the first attempts to reveal the influence mechanism of basic psychological needs and career identity on the relationship between parental attachment and depression of Chinese overseas students. It is expected that the preliminary findings of this study will encourage more research on the psychological mechanisms of Chinese overseas students, so as to provide a more comprehensive picture of the interaction between parental attachment and depression of overseas students studying in different countries with various backgrounds.

Am I choosing the right career? The implications of COVID-19 on the occupational attitudes of hospitality management students

The hospitality industry is under threat from COVID-19 and the possibility of future crises remains very real. To improve understanding of how such a crisis impacts the attractiveness of pursuing a career in the hospitality industry, this study examines the effects of negative emotions invoked by COVID-19 on hospitality management students' occupational attitudes. Using a sample of 425 students, we find that in addition to diminishing their occupational identification and in turn, job choice intentions, that the effects of these negative emotions are channeled through three salient motivational pathways, namely self-efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and passion. Thus, the study not only advances theory by providing a more nuanced conceptualization of the effects of negative emotions on occupational attitudes but it identifies important leverage points that can be harnessed to help mitigate the harmful emotional effects of a crisis, such as COVID-19, important and timely contributions that the authors hope will benefit aspiring hospitality industry talent and help restore the attractiveness of careers in the hospitality industry. Future research directions and implications to theory and practice are discussed.

Evaluation of a Blended Career Education Course during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students’ Career Awareness

Higher education has increasingly emphasized the importance of employability traits in order to personalize students’ learning needs and meet dynamic workplace demands. Previous research addressing the personalized learning on career education in blended learning model is limited. The present study aims to examine whether students with distinctive stable personality traits would improve their career adaptability and adaptation results after attending a synchronous career course during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 162 participants completed the questionnaires at both the first and last sessions of the course in spring 2020. Findings revealed that the course positively improved students’ identity formation. Personality traits demonstrated significant main effects on the middle identity formation stage and career adaptability. This study highlights traits such as emotional stability and possible cultural effects on the career development course in the young Chinese sample population. The implication of specific attributes and cultural backgrounds in career development courses is discussed.

Theorizing parental intervention and young adults' career development: a social influence perspective

Purpose

Drawing on the social influence literature and proposing parental intervention as a social influence process, this study seeks to theorize why parental intervention occurs and how it affects young adults' career development.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a conceptual design, offering a conceptual model based on social influence research and career development research.

Findings

It is proposed that parental intervention is a result of incongruence between parental expectations and young adults' interested occupations and between parents' assessments of young adults' qualities and job demands. Parents' traditionality moderates these relationships, while the success of parental intervention depends on young adults' traditionality and career maturity. Parents' position, referent and expert powers affect young adults' compliance, identification and internalization, respectively, which impact their occupational commitment and career satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Looking at parental intervention over time would help researchers understand this phenomenon more comprehensively than focusing only on its short-term effects as identified in the literature. The motivational processes of parental intervention triggered by power bases play a key role in determining young adults' long-term career consequences.

Practical implications

Career advisors should consider parents as a source of potential intervention in young adults' career choice. They may also provide parent-oriented services in addition to young adult-oriented services.

Originality/value

This framework contributes to the career development literature by adopting social influence approach to explain parental intervention in young adults' career choice and also providing implications for career counselors.

Major Adjustment: Undergraduates' Transition Experiences When Leaving Selective Degree Programs

More than 80% of college students switch degree programs, and students in selective majors, such as business and nursing, often face complex processes with serious implications when leaving such selective degree programs. Therefore, using qualitative, exploratory research, we sought to understand the resources, including support, situation, strategies, and self, that students in selective majors use when transitioning to new degree programs. We also examined the resources students identified as most valuable and the factors most influential in their decision to persist at their current institutions. The findings can provide academic advisors with valuable insight about ways to best support students as they transition out of selective majors.

Goal Striving in Adolescents With and Without Emotional and Behavioral Disturbances Attending Different School Types

Abstract. Adolescents with emotional and behavioral disturbances (EBD) and adolescents attending special schools often show poor academic competence and problems with making career choices. In this context, the processes of goal-striving have not been assessed systematically even though they are related to success and failure in goal attainment ( Heckhausen, Wrosch, & Schulz, 2010 ). Thus, the present longitudinal study compared the levels of domain-specific goal engagement (actively pursuing a goal) and goal disengagement (i. e., postponing goals) and the effects of goal engagement on the attainment of academic competence and career choice of adolescents with and without EBD attending regular versus special schools. Adolescents with EBD reported lower levels of goal engagement and higher levels of goal postponement than adolescents without EBD. For all groups of adolescents, goal engagement at the first measurement predicted stronger progress in the perceived attainment of academic competence at the 1-year follow-up. Conclusions are drawn on how to promote the successful development of students with EBD from regular or special schools.

Psychology Degree Beliefs and Stereotypes: Differences in the Perceptions of Majors and Non-Majors

Very little research examines the beliefs and stereotypes students have about the discipline and major of psychology. Previous research has found that psychology majors report hearing a variety of such beliefs and stereotypes more often from their fellow students than from their family members. In the current study, psychology majors/minors and non-majors/-minors ( N = 376) reported their frequency of hearing beliefs and stereotypes from friends/fellow students or family members and the extent that they agreed with those items. Majors/minors and non-majors/-minors differed significantly on their agreement with several items, such as psychology being “a dead end field,” “psychology is mostly an easy major,” and that “working with crazy people will make you go crazy.” Compared to majors/minors, non-majors/-minors were more likely to agree with the items. There was no evidence that upper-division majors/minors were less likely to believe or less likely to hear the beliefs and stereotypes than lower-division majors/minors. Students reported hearing many of the items more often from friends/fellow students than family members. We discuss the implications of these results for addressing beliefs about the psychology field and degree in introductory and careers courses.

Career Preparation: A Longitudinal, Process-Oriented Examination

Preparing for an adult career through careful planning, choosing a career, and gaining confidence to achieve career goals is a primary task during adolescence and early adulthood. The current study bridged identity process literature and career construction theory (Savickas, 2005) by examining the commitment component of career adaptability, career preparation (i.e., career planning, career decision-making, and career confidence), from an identity process perspective (Luyckx, Goossens, & Soenens, 2006). Research has suggested that career preparation dimensions are interrelated during adolescence and early adulthood; however, what remains to be known is how each dimension changes over time and the interrelationships among the dimensions during the transition from high school. Drawing parallels between career preparation and identity development dimensions, the current study addressed these questions by examining the patterns of change in each career preparation dimension and parallel process models that tested associations among the slopes and intercepts of the career preparation dimensions. Results showed that the career preparation dimensions were not developing similarly over time, although each dimension was associated cross-sectionally and longitudinally with the other dimensions. Results also suggested that career planning and decision-making precede career confidence. The results of the current study supported career construction theory and showed similarities between the processes of career preparation and identity development.

Parental Influences on Greek Adolescents’ Career Decision-Making Difficulties: The Mediating Role of Core Self-Evaluations

The purpose of the study was to explore the influence of family characteristics (family function and parental authority styles) and core self-evaluations (CSE), in adolescents’ career formation. Drawing on the relational framework of Cutrona and Russell, the study examined the mediating role of CSE on the relationship between family and parental variables and adolescents’ career decision-making (CDM) difficulties. Using a sample of 289 Greek students, it was found that for male students the permissive and authoritarian parenting styles and the family cohesion contributed significantly to the prediction of CDM difficulties. Males’ decision-making difficulties were not influenced by CSE. Females’ decision-making difficulties were influenced negatively only by the parents’ authoritarian style. Contrary to males, CSE fully mediated the relationship between the authoritarian style and females’ decision-making difficulties. The specific findings are discussed in reference to gender differences in adolescents’ personality development. Implications for research and adolescents’ career counseling are also discussed.

Utilization of Self-Identity Roles for Designing Interventions for Persons With Dementia

To date, little research has systematically explored the retention of self-identity in dementia and its potential use for the individualization of care. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of role-identity-based treatment for persons with dementia. We recruited a total of 93 elderly persons with dementia (mean Mini-Mental State Exam score = 10.58) for this study. Experimental (treatment) group participants were engaged in activities designed to correspond to each participant's most salient self-identity. The treatment group showed a significant increase in interest, pleasure, and involvement in activities, fewer agitated behaviors during treatment, and increased orientation in the treatment period. The experimental treatment had effects that were superior to those of the nonexperimental activities. The results highlight the powerful roles that perception of self and fulfillment of self-identity play in overall well-being.