Links between young adults' sense of calling, career outcome expectations, and self-efficacy were examined in a sample of 855 undergraduate students from three universities in Atlantic Canada. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that participants' presence of and search for calling accounted for a small, but significant, portion of the…

The purpose of the study was to better understand how students at the beginning of a premed curriculum are different from their science peers on career-related variables. A total of 165 undergraduates were classified into three groups; these were premed students, students with the intent to pursue a graduate degree, and students with the intent to…

Although there is a growing interest in the discrepancy between parents and their adolescent children in relation to career expectations, there is no existing, psychometrically sound scale that directly measures adolescent-parent career congruence or incongruence. This study reports the development and initial validation of the Adolescent-Parent…

Cross-sectional research implies a close relation of vocation interests, goals, and traits, yet little is known about their reciprocal development over time. This longitudinal study examined development of Things/People (T/P) and Data/Ideas (D/I) vocational interests and career goals in relation to Big Five personality traits among 292 Swiss…

Although social class plays a salient and significant role in career development and occupational attainment, social class is underrepresented in vocational psychology theory, scholarship, and practice. Vocational psychologists are in a unique position to meet the career development needs of persons from all social classes by integrating a fuller…

The exploration literature suggests that career exploration may be separated into two distinct forms. Diversive career exploration involves learning broadly about the world of work and the self, whereas specific career exploration involves an in-depth investigation focused on aligning one's perceptions of self and career prospects. The goal of the…

Individualism-collectivism (IC) constitutes a cultural variable thought to influence a wide variety of variables including career planning and decision making. To examine this possibility, college students (216 women, 106 men, 64% racial-ethnic minorities) responded to measures of IC, occupational plans, and work values. Multivariate analysis of…

The current study explored the relation between service motivation, or the desire to serve others through one's future career, and vocational outcomes across two studies. In the first study, using a sample of 225 undergraduate students, an instrument was developed to measure service motivation that demonstrated convergent and discriminant…

Domestic violence survivors encounter numerous barriers and few supports in pursuit of their vocational goals. There is a dearth of research, however, on the vocational supports and barriers salient for survivors. This study aims (a) to assess the psychometric properties of vocational supports and barriers measures with a racially and…

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…

A clear sense of vocational interests may facilitate high school students' capacity to connect current interests to congruent educational and occupational environments. This is particularly important for youth who experience external constraints on career development and college attendance. This study examined how well vocational interests,…

A frequent applied method in career assessment to elicit clients' self-concepts is asking them to predict their interest assessment results. Accuracy in estimating one's interest type is commonly taken as a sign of more self-awareness and career choice readiness. The study evaluated the empirical relation of accuracy of self-estimation to career…

This study is a follow-up investigation of the career and life experiences of battered women two years after shelter exit. Using consensual qualitative research, we interviewed 6 women from our original sample of 13 regarding their career and life adjustments and future aspirations. Results indicated that participants generally reported both…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the contributions of several social cognitive career theory (SCCT) factors in predicting the career aspirations of a group of high school students living in the central part of rural Appalachia. Sixty-three high school students completed measures assessing their vocational/educational…

The circumscription and compromise theory posits the development of self-image in occupations, narrowing with age of acceptable career options, and compromise of vocational aspirations. "Mapping Vocational Challenges" is an activity based on this theory that helps adolescents map and discuss the beliefs that might lead them to rule out possible…