Analysis on Students' Career Preparation in One Korean Medical School: Based on the Relationship and Trend Between Career Maturity and Specialty Indecision

BACKGROUND

For medical school students, specialty choice after graduation significantly impacts their future doctor life. Several Korean medical schools have made efforts to prepare career development programs. However, career support programs based on the systematic analysis of medical school students' first to the final year are still lacking. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the students' career preparation of one medical school in Korea using the Career Maturity Inventory (CMI) and Specialty Indecision Scale (SIS) and to explore the relationship between CMI and SIS variables.

METHODS

From December 2020 to July 2021, we conducted an online survey of 600 students in years 1 to 4 at Seoul National University College of Medicine. We analyzed the differences between the years of the students through one-way analysis of variance of the CMI and SIS and the relationship between the two instruments by correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 198 students completed the survey. The average scores of the CMI variables tended to increase as the year of study went up, and the confidence score of the 1st year students was significantly lower than that of the 2nd and 4th year students. Although there was almost no consistent decrease by year in the SIS variables, 3rd and 4th year students showed significantly lower readiness scores than 1st year students. Additionally, we found that the CMI variables mostly had a negative effect on the SIS variables.

CONCLUSION

There is an increasing tendency for career maturity by year of study in Korean medical school students. However, looking at the SIS results, the career concerns vary among the students. Therefore, medical schools can effectively use the SIS to identify the career concerns of students.

Effect of Proactive Personality on Career Decidedness: The Mediating Role of Career Exploration and the Moderating Role of Anticipated Regret

In order to deepen the understanding of the personality antecedents of students' career decidedness, this study, based on social cognitive career theory and career development theory, examined the effect of proactive personality on career decidedness as well as the mediating mechanism and moderating factors in this process. The results of the survey of 783 Chinese college students showed that proactive personality was positively related to career decidedness via career exploration, and anticipated regret moderated the relationship between proactive personality and career exploration significantly. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed at the end of this research.

The Effect of Perfectionism on Career Adaptability and Career Decision-Making Difficulties

This study investigated categorization of perfectionism subtypes for Chinese undergraduates and the effects of perfectionism subtypes on career outcomes based on two prominent, competing models of perfectionism, the tripartite model and 2 × 2 model. Indices of career outcome were defined with career adaptability (positive) and career decision-making difficulties (negative). The results of both cluster analysis and latent profile analysis coincided with the four-subtype structure of the 2 × 2 model. The result of Bolck–Croon–Hagenaars modeling indicated that the pure high standard subtypes were the most functional while pure discrepancy subtypes were most dysfunctional. Mixed perfectionism subtypes were identified as having high career adaptability but also high risk for career decision-making while nonperfectionism subtypes possess low career decision-making difficulties but also low career adaptability. Based on these findings for perfectionism subtypes, we extrapolate practical recommendations for how this information could be pertinent to career counseling.

Dysfunctional Career Decision-Making Beliefs: A Multidimensional Model and Measure

Dysfunctional beliefs are among the most prevalent, severe difficulties many individuals face in the process of making career decisions. The goal of the present study was to develop and test a new multidimensional measure of Dysfunctional Career Decision-Making Beliefs ( DCB). The DCB questionnaire elicits individuals’ beliefs in five aspects of career decision-making: the role of chance or fate, the criticality of the decision, the role of significant others, the role of professional help, and perceived gender barriers. Study 1 used exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis to test the psychometric properties and the five-factor structure of the DCB with a sample of 937 young adults deliberating about their future career. Study 2 used confirmatory factor analysis to validate the structure of the DCB with another sample of 1,251 young adults and analyzed the associations between individuals’ DCB Scale scores and career decision status to test its concurrent validity. The results supported the proposed multidimensional model of dysfunctional beliefs. Implications for future research and career counseling are discussed.

Personality Characteristics as Predictors of Personal Indecisiveness

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the construct validities of two subtypes of personal indecisiveness (exploratory indecisiveness and impetuous indecisiveness) by examining their relationships to certain personality characteristics (locus of control, self-esteem, and irrational beliefs). The sample consists of 399 Turkish freshman university students (194 male and 205 female) from Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey. The results indicate that low self-esteem is a strong predictor of exploratory indecisiveness. External locus of control and high level of irrational beliefs are also positively predictive of exploratory indecisiveness. External locus of control is a strong predictor of impetuous indecisiveness. However, self-esteem and irrational beliefs are not significant predictors of impetuous indecisiveness. The implications of these findings for career counselors and for future research are discussed.

Predictors of Career Indecision in Three Racial/Ethnic Groups of College Women

This study examines the contributions of career-related barrier and social support perceptions, barrier-related coping beliefs, and career decision-making self-efficacy beliefs to the prediction of career indecision in three racial/ethnic groups of college women. Results indicate that although there are no racial/ethnic differences across scores on most of the key measures, African American women perceive significantly greater career barriers than do either White or Hispanic women. Separate within-racial/ethnic group regressions of career indecision scores indicate that the full model collectively accounted for substantial amounts of criterion variance (range of R2 = .31 to .47), although the pattern of predictor contributions varies somewhat across the three groups.

Dysfunctional Thinking and Difficulties in Career Decision Making

The present study examined the relationships between two measures of career readiness and difficulties—the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) and the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ)—as well as the relations between these measures and the individual’s degree of decidedness regarding his or her career plans. A total of 192 university students enrolled in a career-planning class filled out both questionnaires. As hypothesized, the two measures overlapped significantly. There was a highly significant correlation (corrected for attenuation) between the total scores of the questionnaires ( r= .82), but the correlations between the questionnaires’ subscales varied between –.03 and .83. Both the CTI and the CDDQ distinguish among individuals at different stages of the career decision-making process. As hypothesized, participants with a higher degree of decidedness reported lower levels of difficulties. Implications of the unique features of each of the measures for career-related interventions and further research are discussed.

Expanding the Focus of Career Assessment

Improvements in technology, enhanced access to information, changes in the job market, movement to multiple careers, greater sophistication of job seekers, and increased emphasis by employers on career assessment all indicate the need to expand traditional views of career assessment. New data also indicate the need to assess more than the traditional catalog of individual skills, abilities, and interests. Both individuals seeking career advice and potential employers are interested in more than job and skill fit; they also want to know about a person's ability to move outside the bounds of traditional career ladders and about the fit between an individual's and organization's goals and values. We present an expanded model of career assessment and some preliminary data to support this model.

An Investigation of Big Five Personality Traits and Career Decidedness Among Early and Middle Adolescents

Big Five personality traits were analyzed in relation to career decidedness among adolescents in middle and high school. Participants were 248 7th-grade, 321 10thgrade, and 282 12th-grade students. As hypothesized, Conscientiousness was positively and significantly correlated with career decidedness in all three grades. Openness and Agreeableness were found to be positively related to career decidedness for these middle and high school students. Emotional Stability was positively, significantly related to career decidedness for the 12th-grade sample. There were no significant differences in correlational results for males versus females. No significant mean differences in career decidedness were observed between the three grades. Results are discussed in terms of implications for future research and career development efforts.

The Emotional and Personality-Related Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire—Validation of the Chinese Version

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.

Five-Factor Model and Difficulties in Career Decision Making

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.

Career Indecisiveness of Turkish High School Students:

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.

Ambivalence During and After Career Decision Making of High School Graduates

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.

Testing the Validity of the Emotional and Personality-Related Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire in Turkish Culture

The goal of this study was to examine the emotional and personality-related career decision-making difficulties of high school students in Turkish culture, using the model proposed by Saka and Gati. A sample of 523 high school students filled out the Turkish version of the Emotional and Personality-Related Aspects of Career Decision-Making Difficulties (EPCD) questionnaire. Cluster and confirmatory factor analyses supported the ternary classification system of the emotional and personality-related career decision-making difficulties model and questionnaire, thus providing evidence for the cross-cultural validity of the proposed model. Furthermore, the results demonstrated significant associations between making a decision and the emotional and personality career difficulties: students who were decided reported lower emotional and personality-related career difficulties than did undecided students. Generally, there were no differences in EPCD scores between boys and girls, and no effect of type of school and grade was observed.

Emotional and Personality-Related Career Decision-Making Difficulties

This study tests the temporal stability and the concurrent and predictive validity of the Emotional and Personality-related Career decision-making Difficulties (EPCD) model and questionnaire. Five hundred forty-three participants filled out the EPCD twice, 3 years apart. The Anxiety cluster was the most stable of the three, followed by the Self-Concept and Identity cluster, and then the Pessimistic Views cluster, which showed a significant decrease. Participants who reported having made a career decision by the second administration had lower EPCD scores at Time 1 than did those who remained undecided at Time 2. Whereas the decided group showed a decrease in the EPCD scores during the 3-year interval, the undecided group showed no significant decrease. Significant correlations were observed between the EPCD scores and low satisfaction with one’s chosen occupation. Gender differences were also found: among the decided group, women had higher EPCD scores than did men; overall, women had higher EPCD scores than did men only in the clusters of Anxiety and Self-Concept and Identity.

Occupational Decision-Related Processes for Amotivated Adolescents

This study developed and (statistically) confirmed a new model of the occupational decision-related processes of adolescents, in terms of the extent to which they may be amotivated about choosing a future occupation. A theoretical framework guided the study. A questionnaire that had previously been administered to an Australian adolescent sample was refined and then administered to a sample of 566 Australian Grade 11 students attending a stratified random sample of 16 government high schools in the Sydney metropolitan area. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The major finding was the development and empirical confirmation of a model of the occupational decision-related processes of amotivated Australian adolescents, which suggested that within the context of the study: (a) social influences from the family may allow adolescents to see the relationship between making an occupational decision and its consequences, (b) occupational amotivation may be associated with a lack of decidedness about a future occupation, a non-expectancy for occupational success, and a non-valuing of interest/enjoyment in occupations, (c) those who value recognition are likely to be expect success in a future occupation, and (d) those with an expectancy for occupational success are likely to be undecided about their future occupation. Psychologists, career managers, counselors, educators, and families may be able to use the findings to assist amotivated adolescents in their occupation-related decisions.

Emotional and Personality-Related Aspects of Career Decision-Making Difficulties: Facets of Career Indecisiveness

The current study investigated the Emotional and Personality-related Career decision-making Difficulties model and questionnaire (EPCD) by studying its associations with various personality measures in three samples: (a) 691 deliberating individuals who entered a career self-help website, (b) 197 students in a university preparatory program, and (c) 286 young adults from the general population. As hypothesized, higher levels of emotional and personality-related career decision-making difficulties, as measured by the EPCD, were associated with higher levels of neuroticism, agreeableness, perfectionism, and need for cognitive closure, and lower levels of extraversion, openness to experience, and career decision self-efficacy. In addition, higher levels of these difficulties were associated with a more external locus of control (LoC), and with being less advanced in the career decision-making process.

Emotional and Personality-Related Aspects of Career-Decision-Making Difficulties

This research focuses on developing a theoretical framework for analyzing the emotional and personality-related aspects of career-decision-making difficulties. The proposed model is comprised of three major clusters: pessimistic views, anxiety, and self-concept and identity. In Study 1, the Emotional and Personality Career Difficulties Scale (EPCD) was developed, refined, and used to empirically test the model with an Israeli Internet sample ( N = 728). Study 2 ( N = 276) provided evidence for the cross-cultural validity of the proposed model, using an American college student sample. The relations between the cognitive and emotional components of career-decision-making difficulties are discussed, and theoretical, research, and counseling implications are explored.

Construct and Concurrent Validity of the Korean Career Indecision Inventory

Construct and concurrent validity of the Korean Career Indecision Inventory were examined. Data were collected from 238 South Korean college students. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the original five-factor model. As hypothesized, scores were significantly correlated with various variables such as scores on the Korean versions of the Career Decision Scale ( r = .49), the Vocational Identity Scale in My Vocational Situation ( r = −.63), the Career Decision-making Self-efficacy Scale ( r = −.47), and Negative Affectivity ( r = .37). These results support construct validity of the inventory. Students who indicated they were undecided about their careers had significantly higher scores than those who indicated they had decided on a career, supporting concurrent validity. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Career Maturity, Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy and Career Indecision: A Review of the Accrued Evidence

This paper reviews the recent literature on the three related career developmental constructs of career maturity, career decision-making self-efficacy and career indecision. Articles included are those published since 1990, and were generated by searching the relevant psychology and education databases. Criticisms of the usefulness and validity of the constructs are highlighted. In particular, there have been calls for the career maturity and career indecision constructs to be revised and widened. The strengths and weaknesses of the research methodology used in the three areas are also examined, and recommendations for future research are made. In all areas there is a clear need for longitudinal designs to examine these developmental constructs.