Examining the Persistence Intentions of College Students of Color

This study used the Social Cognitive Career Theory—Career Self-Management Model (SCCT-CSM) to understand the process by which background variables impact students of color’s intentions to persist in college. Findings from 329 students of color revealed that perceived social status related positively to self-efficacy for self-regulated learning, that increased experiences of racism related negatively to self-efficacy for self-regulated learning, and that self-efficacy for self-regulated learning related positively to intentions to persist in college. Further, self-efficacy for self-regulated learning mediated the relationship between perceived social status and persistence intentions among this sample of college students of color. Lastly, SEM analyses provided support for several pathways of the SCCT-CSM model with students of color. Limitations of the current study are discussed. Implications and future directions for practice and research are presented.

Childhood Environmental Adversity and Career Decision-Making Difficulty: A Life History Theory Perspective

Although research has examined and supported the role of environmental adversity in career decision-making, little is known about the prediction power of childhood environmental adversity for career decision-making. To provide guidance for early career interventions, particularly in disadvantaged populations, the current study drew on life history theory and used a sample of U.S. college students ( n = 310) and a sample of U.S. noncollege individuals during emerging adulthood ( n = 308) to examine a mediation model involving childhood unpredictability, childhood poverty, career decision ambiguity aversion, and career decision-making difficulty. The results support the mediation of ambiguity aversion in the positive predictions of childhood unpredictability for all four factors of career decision-making difficulty. However, the results do not support the indirect predictions of childhood poverty for all four factors of career decision-making difficulty through ambiguity aversion but support the direct prediction of childhood poverty for lack of readiness. Therefore, the current study illuminates the importance of a predictable family environment during childhood for career decision-making during emerging adulthood and provides implications for the validity of life history theory in career decision-making, the development of ambiguity aversion, and early career interventions. Implications and future directions of research regarding childhood poverty are also discussed.

Influence of social class perceptions on attributions among mental health practitioners

OBJECTIVE

A vignette-based study assessed the influence of social class attributions toward a hypothetical client's difficulty.

METHOD

188 licensed mental health professionals who were recruited through professional listservs completed an online survey after reviewing one of two versions of a vignette describing a hypothetical client that varied based on social class cues.

RESULTS

As expected, this sample of licensed mental health practitioners detected social class differences based on the descriptors of the hypothetical client across the two vignettes. These perceived social class differences, however, did not impact participants' attributions toward the client for causing or solving her problems, level of Global Assessment of Functioning score ascribed to the client, or willingness to work with the client.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no evidence that participants differentially ascribed attributions based on social class. Implications and directions for future research are provided.

Personal and Contextual Variables Related to Work Hope Among Undergraduate Students From Underrepresented Backgrounds

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.

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.

Career Barriers and Coping Efficacy Among Native American Students

This study examined the relationship between career barriers (low perceived social status [PSS], experiences with personal and systemic classism, and general ethnic discrimination) and college outcome expectations (COEs) among a sample of 121 Native American postsecondary students. Self-efficacy for coping with career barriers was tested as a mediator of these relationships. Results indicated that lower PSS and more experiences with both personal and systemic classism related to lower COEs, and that coping efficacy for career barriers fully mediated these relationships. Contrary to expectations, experiences with ethnic discrimination was unrelated to COEs. Implications for future research and career counseling with Native American students are discussed.

Social Status Identity: Antecedents and Vocational Outcomes

This study extended the literature on potential antecedents and outcomes of perceived social status, or differential status identity (DSI). Fouad and Brown’s DSI was used as a conceptual lens for examining the relation of supports and barriers to an individual’s perceived social status and subsequent career indecisiveness and career decision self-efficacy. Results from a path model using 299 diverse undergraduate students provided general support for the hypothesized model, which included self-reported race/ ethnicity, social class, experiences with racism and classism and primary caregiver support as antecedents of DSI, and indecisiveness and career decision self-efficacy as outcomes of it. Differential status identity was tested as a mediator of the relations between the antecedents and vocational outcomes. Overall, the model was determined to fit the data well, but some paths were unsupported. Implications for research and practice using DSI as a conceptual framework are discussed.

Career Aspirations and Expectations of College Students

Replicating previous research, this study examined differences in 677 diverse college students' career aspirations and expectations based on gender and ethnicity, and compared their career expectations to the U.S. workforce. This study extended the literature base by exploring discrepancies between occupational aspirations and expectations (aspiration—expectation discrepancy) in terms of Holland code congruence and complexity. Further, this study investigated how perceptions of career barriers, career decision self-efficacy, and differential status identity may be related to the aspiration—expectation discrepancy. Results revealed significant ethnic and gender differences in career aspirations and expectations. Furthermore, the careers college students expected to pursue were not entirely aligned with the current labor market. Discrepancies existed between the careers students aspired to and expected to pursue. Finally, our findings revealed that career barriers, career decision self-efficacy, and differential status identity are three factors that may be related to the aspiration—expectation discrepancy, which warrants more research.