An intervention for 50 career-undecided women helped them identify decision-making barriers, consider vocational interests, and formulate provisional major and career choices. Women who were introverted and whose decision-making style was rational reported greater benefits from the intervention than those whose personality type was perceiving and…

The results of five studies illustrated sound psychometric properties of the CAS when used with adolescent, college, and postcollege samples comprised predominantly of White women. The final eight-item measure demonstrated strong test-retest reliability over a 2-week period and evidenced moderate internal consistency. Convergent validity was…

Emancipatory communitarian perspectives advocate for theory, research, and action that address the needs of oppressed groups, such as urban adolescents. Considering the dearth of instruments sensitive to the career development needs of urban adolescents, this study examined the component structure of three indices of career development with 220…

The validity of scores on the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) for Asian American college students has not been thoroughly investigated. This study examined the evidence of validity of the SII Occupational Scale scores for predicting college major choices of Asian American women and men and White women and men. The sample included 186 female and…

The Personality Assessment System (PAS) is based on the theory that people will seek situations that use their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Studies operationalizing the theory through the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale support the use of PAS in improving person-job match and increasing self-knowledge for career development. (SK)

College students were assigned to three groups: Strong Interest Inventory (SII) plus social cognitive group feedback (n=52), SII only (n=22), and controls (n=25). The feedback group had higher career decision-making self-efficacy and more differentiated career beliefs than the SII-only group. Both SII groups were more likely to see the…

College students (n=217) completed the Career Decision Scale, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Self-Consciousness Scale, and Fear of Commitment Scale. Fear was a strong predictor of career indecision. Negative predictors were self-oriented perfectionism and social anxiety; positive predictors were socially prescribed perfectionism and private…

Study 1 (n=159) found significant differences in vocational personality types, interests, and values depending on birth order. Study 2 (n=119) found significant differences in occupational interests by birth order. Both results support Alfred Adler's theory that birth order determines aspects of vocational behavior. (Contains 33 references.) (SK)

This study reports a 30-year follow-up of 107 former high school juniors and seniors from a rural Midwestern community who completed the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey (KOIS) in 1975 and 2005. Absolute, intra-individual, and test-retest stability of interests, and predictive validity of occupations were examined. Results showed minor absolute…

The effects of a career development course on career decision-making self-efficacy were investigated. The course was primarily designed to help undecided students with career decision making. A pretest-posttest nonequivalent group design compared students who completed the course (n = 30) with a quasi-control group of students who were enrolled in…

In this article, the ways in which self-efficacy has influenced career assessment and practice during the past 25 years are explored. Focus is on research describing or evaluating specific theory-based interventions or programs with particular attention to experimental, quasi-experimental, and program evaluations studies published in refereed…

Of 81 men and 69 women studied, those with more self-defeating personality (SDP) characteristics were more career indecisive and had less vocational identity. Women with more SDP had significantly greater career choice anxiety than similar men. Depression contributed to indecision and lack of vocational identity for SDP men and to lack of…

The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory provides a way of determining the fit between individual preferences and potential occupations. It can give people an appreciation of their strengths and weaknesses and awareness of possible blind spots. Recognition of individual types can help in selecting appropriate steps for career planning and lifelong…

College students completed the Decisional Process Inventory, or DPI (n=248), Career Decision Scale (n=242), Occupational Alternatives Question (n=244), and Gestalt Contact Styles Questionnaire Revised (n=243). Results supported the DPI's content and criterion-related validity as a tool for assessing career decidedness. (SK)

The Self Directed Search was recently revised (Form R) after two tests: a version with 70 new items was administered to 701 people to identify good and bad items, and 2,600 students and adults completed the final Form R. The Occupations Finder was revised, and a technical manual and professional user's guide were created. (SK)