A Moderated Mediation Model of Planned Happenstance Skills,Career Engagement,Career Decision Self‐Efficacy,and Career Decision Certainty

This study examined how college students’ levels of planned happenstance skills influenced the relationships among career engagement, career decision self‐efficacy, and career decision certainty. Moderated mediation analysis was used with a sample of 217 Korean undergraduate students. The results indicated that career decision self‐efficacy mediated the relationship between career engagement and career decision certainty. Moreover, the positive indirect effect of career engagement on career decision through career decision self‐efficacy was strengthened as the level of planned happenstance skills increased. In conclusion, college students’ career engagement strengthens their career decision certainty via career decision self‐efficacy when they have enough planned happenstance skills to discover unexpected career opportunities.     

Motivational Profiles and Career Decision Making of High School Students

Based on self‐determination theory, this study sought to identify distinct motivational profiles in a sample of high school students (N = 396, mean age = 17.02 years) using a person‐centered approach. Three motivational clusters of students emerged: self‐determined students, non‐self‐determined students, and externally regulated students. Differences between and among these profiles across career exploration and career indecision levels were analyzed. Overall, self‐determination theory appears to offer a conceptual framework for organizing career interventions. The fact that motivational profiles can distinguish students among career exploration and career indecision levels leads the authors to reaffirm the importance of differential career intervention practices. Future research should examine the stability of motivational profiles, their predictive power over career exploration and career decision making, and the differences between highly motivated students regarding the career decision‐making process.     

Career Decision Making for Korean International College Students: Acculturation and Networking

The authors examined the relationship among acculturation, career networking, and career decision self‐efficacy for Korean international college students. Networking is an essential skill for career success, and acculturation is connected to career outcomes for diverse populations; however, little research has examined the relationship between these factors. A total of 172 Korean international students (117 women, 54 men, 1 not reported) completed measures of acculturation; networking comfort, intensity, and proactivity; and career decision self‐efficacy. Using structural equation modeling, the authors found acculturation to affect career decision self‐efficacy through networking. The relationships among acculturation, networking, and career decision self‐efficacy indicated a medium to large effect size. These findings indicate that career counselors should collaboratively attend to acculturation concerns, such as stress and identity development, as well as provide opportunities for networking skill development. More research is needed on acculturation and networking among additional international student populations.     

The Effects of Socioeconomic Status and Proactive Personality on Career Decision Self‐Efficacy

This study investigated the relationship of family socioeconomic status and proactive personality to career decision self‐efficacy in a sample of 336 Taiwanese college students. The results of the partial least squares path modeling analysis showed that both socioeconomic status and proactive personality were positively associated with career decision self‐efficacy. These findings support person input variables as being predictive of career decision self‐efficacy and provide career counselors with insight into how to design career interventions for improving college students’ career decision self‐efficacy. Implications for career counseling and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Career Decision Self‐Efficacy of Asian American Students: The Role of Curiosity and Ethnic Identity

This study examined the role of curiosity and ethnic identity in career decision self‐efficacy among Asian American college students. Given that curiosity can promote the process of exploring one’s possible future self, opportunities, and career goals, the authors hypothesized that curiosity would be associated with career decision self‐efficacy, directly or indirectly, through a sense of ethnic identity. Results based on data from 425 Asian American incoming first‐year college students suggest that students with high curiosity tend to present a stronger sense of competence in completing career decision‐related tasks. These findings also confirmed a hypothesis that ethnic identity mediates the association between curiosity and career decision self‐efficacy. Implications for future research and career counseling with Asian American college students are discussed.     

Positive Affect and Career Decision‐Making: The Moderating Role of Interpersonal Spin

We investigated the moderating role of interpersonal spin in the relationships between positive affect, career decision self‐efficacy (CDSE), and career indecision among young adults (16 women, 79 men). Interpersonal spin was calculated using the diary method, wherein students reported their daily interpersonal behaviors for 14 consecutive days. Results indicated that positive affect was positively associated with CDSE and negatively associated with career indecision. Interpersonal spin diminished the positive relationship between positive affect and CDSE and the negative relationship between positive affect and career indecision. Our findings extend prior studies by uncovering the influence of positive affect and behavioral stability, including interpersonal spin, on the career decision process. Counselors are encouraged to foster individuals' positive affect and reduce their interpersonal spin to obtain positive career outcomes, such as high CDSE and low career indecision.     

Explaining Career Decision‐Making Self‐Efficacy: Personality,Cognitions, and Cultural Mistrust

The authors explore the hypothesis that career decision‐making self‐efficacy could be affected by negative career thoughts, Big Five personality factors, and cultural mistrust in a sample of African American and Caucasian college students. Findings demonstrated that negative career thinking, openness, and conscientiousness explained a significant amount of variance in career decision‐making self‐efficacy in a general sample of college students, but no unique variance was explained by cultural mistrust in a sample of African American college students.     

Affect in Daily Career Decision Self‐Efficacy and Career Choice Anxiety

The authors investigated the impact of emotional intelligence on 2 career decision variables: daily career decision self‐efficacy and daily career choice anxiety. They also examined the mediating effects of daily positive affect on these variables. At baseline, 103 Korean undergraduate and graduate students completed questionnaires about emotional intelligence. Using a daily diary method, the authors also collected data on participants’ daily positive affect, daily career decision self‐efficacy, and daily career choice anxiety for 21 consecutive days. Hierarchical linear model analyses indicated that emotional intelligence predicted daily career decision self‐efficacy and daily career choice anxiety. These findings suggest that fostering emotional intelligence and daily positive affect could help students determine their future career. For individuals experiencing difficulty in the career decision process, counselors may foster career decision self‐efficacy and reduced career choice anxiety via enhancing clients’ emotional intelligence and daily positive affect.     

Decision‐Making Styles,Career Decision Self‐Efficacy,and Career Adaptability Among High School Students

We investigated the relationships between decision‐making styles, career decision self‐efficacy, and career adaptability among high school students. We also sought to determine whether gender moderates the relationships among these three constructs. A total of 216 Serbian final‐year high school students responded to career adaptability and decision‐making measures. Results of structural equation modeling showed that career decision self‐efficacy mediates a positive relationship between the rational and intuitive styles and a negative relationship between the dependent style and career adaptability. The rational style only had a direct effect on career adaptability. Gender moderated one path—a regression weight of self‐efficacy on career adaptability. For male students, self‐efficacy was not a significant predictor of career adaptability. The results suggest that career counselors might approach students differently depending on students' gender and that the role of gender in career decision‐making and adaptability processes should be investigated further.     

“Yes,I Can”: Testing an Intervention to Increase Middle School Students’ College and Career Self‐Efficacy

Middle school is the appropriate time for students to begin exploring careers and improving self‐efficacy; however, empirically supported career and college readiness interventions for U.S. middle school students are limited. Examining the effect of an intervention that combined a virtual experience and a local college visit on middle school students (99 girls, 74 boys), the authors found that participating students had higher levels of college and career self‐efficacy than did nonparticipating students. The study shows that a workshop of the online Florida CHOICES program coupled with a campus visit increased middle school student career and college self‐efficacy. Future research should include longitudinal studies and use of diverse populations to improve generalizability of study results.     

Relative Deprivation and Career Decision Self‐Efficacy: Influences of Self‐Regulation and Parental Educational Attainment

Nearly 70% of Korean women pursue postsecondary education, yet they occupy lower‐status positions than do men (K. Kim & Han, 2008 ). Therefore, the authors examined relative deprivation in equal opportunities and its effect on career‐related self‐efficacy among 603 Korean female college students. Self‐regulation was hypothesized to mediate the effects of relative deprivation on career decision self‐efficacy. This effect was hypothesized to differ according to parents’ educational attainment due to different degrees of parental support. As expected, self‐regulation mediated the relationship between relative deprivation and career decision self‐efficacy for participants whose parents had high education levels. However, participants whose parents had low education levels demonstrated less involvement in resolving relative deprivation. Findings suggest that career counselors should use different interventions based on parental education level to influence students’ self‐regulation and to enhance career decision self‐efficacy.     

Cultural Trailblazers: Exploring the Career Development of Latina First‐Generation College Students

Latinas in the United States have had historically low college graduation rates, are overrepresented in lower paying occupations, and experience culture‐ and values‐based struggles in obtaining career goals. As Latinas increase their presence as a cultural group in higher education and grow in the U.S. workforce, researchers are called to uncover the challenging and complex career development experience of this diverse group of students. This qualitative study used a grounded theory methodology to explore the values and life‐role salience associated with the career development of Latina 1st‐generation college students at a primarily Caucasian institution. Results included 2 overarching themes with 5 subthemes supporting culturally sensitive career counseling practices while working with this sample. Future research implications examining the efficacy of interventions to help Latina 1st‐generation college students succeed in college are provided.     

Contextual Factors Related to African American Adolescent Career Development

African American adolescents’ career development has gained increased attention in light of various barriers affecting their educational and career development goals. The author examined relationships among career decision self‐efficacy, ethnic identity, and academic self‐concept of 104 African American high school students enrolled in Upward Bound programs. Participants responded to measures of career decision self‐efficacy, ethnic identity, and academic self‐concept. Results indicated that career decision self‐efficacy was significantly and positively correlated with ethnic identity and academic self‐concept. In addition, academic self‐concept was found to be a stronger predictor of career decision self‐efficacy than was ethnic identity. The results of this study may assist counselors, teachers, administrators, and parents to understand career decision self‐efficacy as it relates to ethnic identity, academic self‐concept, and demographic variables. This research supports the need for continued career‐related interventions within the schools designed to focus on factors related to ethnic minorities to help foster their career development.     

The Origin of Major Choice,Academic Commitment,and Career‐Decision Readiness Among Taiwanese College Students

The present study aimed to examine if and how career‐decision readiness relates to the origin of college major choice among Taiwanese college students. A total of 375 junior and senior college students (147 women, 228 men) responded to measures of college major choice, academic commitment, career self‐efficacy, and career‐decision readiness. Results indicated that students' academic commitment to a college major tend to increase when they choose their majors based on personal and career preferences. In sequence, high levels of academic commitment lead to high levels of career self‐efficacy, and increased self‐efficacy augments the extent of career‐decision readiness that students manifest near the end of their college education. These findings have practical implications insofar as many Asian students choose a college major because of parents and other authority figures, and these findings demonstrate that a full understanding of career‐decision readiness may require incorporating the origin of college major choice and its academic effects into future research.     

Rural Latino Youth Career Development: An Application of Social Cognitive Career Theory

This study used social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994 ) to investigate the career development of 9th‐grade students living in 2 rural communities with large numbers of Latino immigrants. Participants (55.3% Latino) responded to measures of vocational skills self‐efficacy, career decision outcome expectations, career aspirations, and barriers to postsecondary education. Contrary to previous findings, results indicated that Latino students in these communities reported higher self‐efficacy beliefs than did White students. Latino students also reported higher perceived barriers, but this did not seem to relate to their career aspirations. Results suggest that school and career counselors should focus on programming that attends to Latino students' self‐efficacy and outcome expectations, as well as efficacy for overcoming barriers. Doing so could prove useful for increasing career achievement among rural Latino youth.     

Efficacy and Outcome Expectations Influence Career Exploration and Decidedness

In this multiple regression model, self-efficacy beliefs are the best predictor of career indecision, and outcome expectations are the best predictor of exploration intentions. When indecision was entered as a predictor, it also was a significant predictor of exploration intentions—students who were less decided were also more likely to plan career exploration. Career efficacy and outcome expectations relate significantly more strongly within the group of college men than within the group of college women. Implications for social cognitive career theory and practice are discussed.     

The Self‐Directed Search as a Stand‐Alone Intervention With College Students

The Self‐Directed Search (SDS; Holland, 1994 ) is sometimes administered to large student groups outside of counseling to address common career development needs. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the SDS as a stand‐alone intervention by comparing a general sample of college students who completed the SDS (n = 39) with a no‐treatment control group (n = 41) on several outcomes. Completion of the SDS related to an increase in the number of career alternatives being considered 4 weeks later but did not relate to career exploration, career decision‐making self‐efficacy, career indecision, and seeking of career counseling services. If the SDS is used outside of counseling with broad student samples, the authors suggest providing additional intervention to ensure that it promotes exploration of any additional careers being considered.     

The Undecided Student: Effects of Combining Levels of Treatment Parameters on Career Certainty,Career Indecision,and Client Satisfaction

The author investigated the impact of a 4‐phase combined intervention on outcomes of career certainty, career indecision, and client satisfaction in undecided college students and compared it to a 2‐phase intervention. Both interventions were effective in increasing career certainty in the sample population; however, the 4‐phase treatment was significantly more effective in increasing career certainty. Both treatments were effective in decreasing career indecision, although no significant difference was found between these 2 groups. There was no significant difference in ratings of satisfaction between the 2 groups. The findings suggest that even the most basic and cost‐effective intervention may benefit the undecided student.     

Career Transitions of College Seniors

In a study with 191 college students, canonical correlation analysis explored career search self‐efficacy and psychological distress (career search set) in relation to psychological resources and regulatory focus (career transition set), producing 2 significant canonical correlations. The 1st correlation dimension showed that decreased career search self‐efficacy and increased psychological distress had a moderate relationship with decreased psychological resources and minimal relationship with low promotion focus and high prevention focus. The 2nd dimension illustrated that the increase in anxiety and personal exploration efficacy were associated with increased readiness for the career transition and elevated prevention focus.     

Evaluating FOCUS‐2's Effectiveness in Enhancing First‐Year College Students’ Social Cognitive Career Development

This study examined the effectiveness of the computer‐assisted career guidance system, FOCUS‐2, on 1st‐year college students’ social cognitive career development. Specifically, the authors assessed career decision self‐efficacy (CDSE) and assessment of attributions for career decision making (AACDM) using repeated measures analyses of variance with a sample of 1st‐year college students (N= 420). Effectiveness was measured as a change in participants’ CDSE and AACDM scores from pretest to posttest. Results demonstrated that participants’ interaction with FOCUS‐2 was associated with increases in participants’ CDSE and alteration to a less optimistic style for AACDM. Gender, race, academic major status, and the amount of time using FOCUS‐2 were also considered. Implications for practice are explored.