Comparing Career Development Outcomes Among Undergraduate Students in Cognitive Information Processing Theory–Based Versus Human Relations Courses

The effectiveness of undergraduate career courses has been demonstrated for multiple variables, including career certainty, maturity, decision-making skills, and reduction of dysfunctional career thoughts. Although such studies used the career course as an intervention, most failed to include a comparison course, nor were grounded in career theory. This study used a comparison group of 152 undergraduates enrolled in career development courses and 50 students enrolled in undergraduate human relations courses. Pre- and posttest comparisons indicated that the career course yielded significant improvements in career decision state, cognitive information processing (CIP) skills, career decision-making stage, knowledge of next steps, and anxiety about current career concern, but the human relations course did not. The CIP-based career course is supported as a valid career intervention, and individuals may benefit from targeted interventions depending on their CASVE cycle position. Future research might compare different career theory–based or atheoretical career courses on career development outcomes.     

Enhancing the Career Planning Self-Determination of Young Adults with Mental Health Challenges

The impact of an intervention on the self-determination and career planning engagement of young adults with mental health challenges was studied. Sixty-seven young adults, 20 to 30 years of age, with mental health diagnoses (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder) were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Statistically significant greater increases were made by the intervention group versus the control group for self-determination and career planning engagement, and self-determination at least partially mediated increases in career planning engagement. With career planning self-determination interventions, young adults with mental health challenges might be able to achieve better career and life outcomes than is typical for this population.     

Triarchic Model of Grit Dimensions as Predictors of Career Outcomes

Recent studies have emphasized the importance of applying positive psychological theories in the context of career development (Hull et al., 2020; Vela et al., 2015, 2019). However, limited research has been carried out on how specific positive personality traits might contribute to optimal career functioning. We addressed this gap by exploring the link of a triarchic model of grit dimensions (i.e., perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and adaptability to situations) to career maturity, career decision-making self-efficacy, and career goal setting among Hong Kong Chinese secondary school students. Perseverance of effort positively predicted career goal setting and career decision-making self-efficacy. Consistency positively predicted career goal setting and career maturity. Adaptability to situations positively predicted career maturity, career decision-making self-efficacy, and career goal setting. Results point to the importance of designing school-based grit interventions to facilitate optimal career-related functioning.     

Using the Constructs Multifinality,Work Hope,and Possible Selves With Urban Minority Youth

This article describes and highlights the potential contributions that the constructs multifinality, work hope, and possible selves make for designing career counseling interventions and for better understanding possible career‐related factors associated with academic engagement and achievement among urban minority youth. Multifinality may serve as a superordinate orientation because it conceptualizes development as discontinuous and relatively plastic, allowing for youth deemed at risk to follow more hopeful pathways. Work hope and possible selves emphasize the utility of providing urban minority youth with space to answer questions related to what they might achieve and do in the future and who they might become. Together, multifinality, work hope, and possible selves provide a hopeful conceptual framework for career researchers and practitioners.     

Make your future job matter: A career calling intervention for college students

In recent years, career development scholars and practitioners are increasingly interested in the concept of career calling. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying the process of its discernment remain obscure, and intervention research is scarce. In this study, we implemented a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with intervention (n = 42) and control group (n = 66) to test a 9-week elective course designed to help college students find their callings. The course included an investigation of strengths, values, and interests, followed by their integration into personal mission and finding occupations that allowed to implement that mission in real life (potential callings). The study was conducted in a major Russian university located in Moscow. Be the end of the course, the participants had a stronger sense of calling, perceived more meaning, and felt more authentic. The results of this study can be used by university career services, as well as private counselors.     

An Individual Mixed‐Evaluation Method for Career Intervention

Economic issues linked to career counseling are a cause for concern to policy makers in developed countries because they expect career practitioners to provide evidence of the efficiency of career counseling interventions. The aim of this study was to test an individual evaluation method mixing time series (outcomes) and life narrative (processes). The method used 5 items related to 1 client's career decision self‐efficacy and studied the evolution of those items throughout the intervention of 1 career counselor (43 days). Changepoint analysis helped in identifying the changes that have to be taken into account for time series and which are contextualized in the client's verbatim analysis. This mixed method highlighted that the career counselor's intervention increased the client's career decision self‐efficacy. Practitioners could use the methodology proposed in this article to evaluate their interventions. They could also report their practice to clients, employers, and decision makers.     

Two Methods of Exploring Interests: A Comparison of Outcomes

The present intervention outcome study proposed a specific difference in how intervening with the Vocational Card Sort versus the Strong/Strong-Campbell would be experienced by clients. The study included a participant attribute variable (locus of control for career development) and an outcome variable (career decision-making self-efficacy) related to this proposed difference. There were no statistically significant intervention or intervention by participant attribute effects at follow-up time. Nevertheless, there were statistically significant differences in satisfaction at various points in the administration of the interest interventions. Implications for career counseling and future research are discussed.     

Effects of a Career Course on Chinese High School Students' Career Decision-Making Readiness

Career decision-making is a critical task for high school students, yet little is known about how career interventions affect their decision-making skills and self-efficacy. We investigated the outcome of a career intervention in a Chinese high school setting to determine whether it would reduce the difficulties students faced in making a career decision and elevate their self-efficacy in career exploration. A career intervention course was delivered to 413 high school students (228 female, 185 male) who completed a demographic questionnaire, the Major Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale (Peng & Long, 2003), and the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire–Chinese Version (Shen, 2005) before and after the intervention. Results indicated that the intervention had a positive impact on reducing students' difficulties making career decisions but had mixed results on career self-efficacy. Proactive, systematic, multilevel, and structured interventions over longer periods of time would likely help youth develop their career decision-making skills.     

Broadening Career Horizons for Students in At-Risk Environments

Researchers and practitioners embarked on a collaborative venture to develop, implement, and evaluate a career intervention program for 7th grade students who were at-risk for vocational underachievement. Students participating in the Career Horizons Program demonstrated enhanced confidence in performing tasks related to investigating, selecting, and implementing a career choice. They also considered a greater number of careers and selected those that were congruent with their interests. No change was found in confidence regarding degree of self-knowledge. Suggestions are provided for improving on the development and evaluation of career exploration programs to enhance career self-efficacy and broaden the career horizons of students in at-risk environments.     

Career Development Profiles and Interventions for Underrepresented College Students

The study interpreted scores from career development and role salience measures for 4 groups of underrepresented, at-risk college students to suggest potentially useful career interventions for each group. Each group's scores required a distinctive interpretation, and the 4 interpretations suggested some common and some distinctive interventions. Because the recommendations obtained from the career measures coincided with recommended interventions for underrepresented, at-risk students in the literature, the results support further study of the utility of career maturity measures with such populations.     

An Intersectional Social Capital Model of Career Development for International Marriage Immigrants

The phenomenon of women immigrating to marry has resulted in changing labor markets and increasing workforce diversity. However, because of a lack of social capital in their new country, immigrant women face significant barriers to gaining employment, have access to only limited work arenas, or remain at home as housewives. Existing studies of immigrant women are mainly limited to their human rights or cultural issues; there are few studies focusing on career development for them. This article uses social capital and intersectionality theories to create an intersectional social capital model of career development for immigrant women. The application of the model is explicated through the context of South Korea. The positive career development interventions as described in the model can help immigrant brides overcome multiple career‐related barriers and find new roots.     

Practice and Research in Career Counseling and Development—2006

The author presents professional literature published in 2006 related to career counseling and development. The literature is organized into 3 sections: (a) professional issues related to career development throughout the life span, culture, ethnicity, gender, and other specific topics; (b) research related to theoretical and conceptual advances; and (c) career interventions and practice, including issues related to career assessment and technology. Cohesive themes throughout this review are the concepts of social context embedded in career development, multicultural perspectives, and global and international perspectives of career development. Research is encouraged regarding career interventions that are based on career theories specific to certain cultures and in general for global needs.     

Integrating Existentialism and Super's Life‐Span,Life‐Space Approach

As workers face a changing and ever‐complex employment landscape, traditional career theories and approaches may not be sufficient in meeting career challenges. Calls for integrated career theories have emerged as more people seek meaning and purpose in their lives and careers. This article proposes a career counseling option that integrates existentialism and Super's (1990) life‐span, life‐space approach to establish a foundation for a broader approach to career development that views clients holistically by exploring life and career meaning and purpose from a developmental perspective. A case example and interventions are provided to demonstrate practical application and a contextual framework, along with implications for counselors.     

Improving Prediction of Significant Career‐Related Constructs for High School Students With Learning Disabilities

Preparing students with learning disabilities (LDs) to make the transition into the world of work is considered an essential preparation that high schools can provide. However, existing services are limited for career development preparation, and available programs rely on assessments normed for samples of students without LDs. This study examined the predictability of critical career‐related constructs of dysfunctional career thoughts, career maturity, and vocational identity in high school students with LDs, using a sample of 139 such students. Data analyses were performed using multiple regression and t tests. Results indicate that it is possible to predict important career constructs for students with LDs using standardized instruments, which can inform subsequent interventions.     

College Student Psychological Distress: Relationship to Self‐Esteem and Career Decision Self‐Efficacy Beliefs

College students experience a number of stressors, such as adjustment to a new environment, postgraduation planning, and the balancing of changing roles and responsibilities. These stressors may contribute to increased rates of psychological distress that have implications for their educational and career development. The purpose of this study was to extend understanding of the nature of the relationships among psychological distress, self‐esteem, and career decision self‐efficacy (CDSE) beliefs. Results from 292 undergraduate students demonstrated support for the proposed hypotheses. Psychological distress negatively related to self‐esteem and to CDSE. Self‐esteem was positively related to, yet distinct from, CDSE, and both self‐esteem and psychological distress contributed unique variance to the prediction of CDSE. Results highlight the importance of attending to student psychological distress in the provision of career counseling services. Future research that centralizes mental health is needed to better understand relationships among career development processes over time and within diverse student populations.     

Effects of early support intervention on workplace ergonomics--a two-year followup study

The purpose of the controlled longitudinal study was to determine the effect of a tailored early support intervention method on workers' workplace ergonomics. The main areas of the early support intervention were training, guidance and support for supervisors in finding weak signals of impaired ergonomics. Supervisors were also trained to bring up these weak signals in discussion with employees and to make necessary changes at the workplace. The data consisted of 301 intervention subjects and 235 control subjects working in the field of commerce. The questionnaires were carried out in 2008 and in 2010, and the response rates among both groups were 45%. We used multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance (MANOVA) to test the difference in the groups at two points of time. The main result was that in the areas of work environment, the interaction between group and time was statistically significant (p=0.0004). The work environment improved in the intervention group, but deteriorated in the control. Working methods improved due to the interventions, but physical load factors increased over time in both groups. According to the study, tailored early support intervention has a generally beneficial impact on workers' workplace ergonomics in the areas of work methods, work environment and accident factors.     

Beyond the Mommy Track: The Influence of New-Concept Part-Time Work for Professional Women on Work and Family

This study investigates how the option for new-concept part-time work influences the ability of mothers of preschool children working in professional occupations to successfully integrate work and family responsibilities while maintaining career opportunities. Data are from a subset of the 1996 IBM Work and Life Issues Survey in the United States (n = 687). Compared to their counterparts who worked full time, mothers who worked in these part-time positions reported significantly greater work-family balance and did not report significantly less career opportunity. The part-time group reported 47% fewer work hours and 41% lower income than the full-time group. These data support the notion that new-concept part-time work is a viable option to assist women in professional careers to successfully integrate their family career. Implications of these findings are presented.     

School-Based Groups to Support Multiethnic Sexual Minority Youth Resiliency: Preliminary Effectiveness

Sexual minority youth (SMY) face multiple challenges as a result of their marginalized sexual and/or gender identities, yet evidence informed programs for the population are absent from the literature. This study describes the pilot research efforts of affirmative supportive safe and empowering talk (ASSET), the first LGBTQ affirmative school-based group counseling intervention created specifically to promote resiliency. In a pilot uncontrolled trial, multiethnic SMY (n = 263) completed measures of self-esteem, social connectedness, and proactive coping at baseline and following completion of the ASSET intervention. Post-intervention analysis using general linear modeling suggests that self-esteem and proactive coping increased significantly across all subgroups, while social connectedness remained constant. ASSET holds promise to enhance the resiliency of SMY in school-based practice settings. Further research should address the effect of ASSET participation on measures of risk and resiliency, and compare outcomes across multiple group interventions.