Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 were used to describe and compare postsecondary education enrollment patterns of first- and continuing-generation students. Social cognitive career theory was used to explain the processes of educational and career pursuit and attainment, as well as personal, behavioral, and…

Although personal inputs and contextual variables in social cognitive career theory (SCCT) are recognized as key factors that affect career interests and choices, research has given minimal attention to the role of these variables in a collectivistic culture context. We present a study examining science, technology, engineering, and mathematics…

This article examines the process and outcome of a life design counseling group intervention with students in Grades 9 and 12. First, we applied a quasi-experimental methodology to analyze the intervention's effectiveness in promoting career certainty, career decision-making, self-efficacy, and career adaptability in a sample of 236 students.…

Being hopeful is critical for individuals who are engaged in vocational pursuits. However, the empirical research examining how and why hope is related to work and career outcomes remains sparse. We evaluate a model that proposes that dispositional hope affects job performance and turnover intentions through increased work motivation in terms of…

The authors have examined the relative contribution of personal (emotional state, gender-role attitudes), contextual (perceived social supports and barriers), and cognitive (self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations) variables to technological interests in a sample (N = 2,364) of 10th-grade Spanish students. The results of path analysis…

This study explored the mediating role of career decision self-efficacy between core self-evaluations (CSE), a newly established construct within the personality domain, and adolescents' vocational identity. Using a sample of 200 Greek high school students, it was found that for female adolescents CSE influenced vocational identity both directly…

This study investigated the influence of background variables (age, race/ethnicity, mother's work status outside of the home, and socioeconomic status), personal variables (anticipatory role conflict and academic self-efficacy), and environmental variables (parental attachment and parental support) on aspects of adolescent girls' career planning.…

The present study expands the career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) literature by focusing on a sample of unattached Jamaican youth to determine if youth assets (protective factors like family communication and peer role models) were predictive of increased CDSE. Unattached youth are defined as those that do not have a job or are not currently…

This study surveyed 925 Australian high school students enrolled in grades 8 through 12 on measures of occupational aspirations, occupational expectations, career status aspirations, and career status expectations; it tested the association between these variables and career maturity, career indecision, career decision-making self-efficacy, and…

Individual (gender and acculturation), microsystem (social support), exosystem (socioeconomic status), and macrosystem (racism) variables were examined as predictors of career decision-making self-efficacy in a sample of 85 Vietnamese adolescents in the Washington, D.C., area. English language acculturation and peer support accounted for unique…

This study examined the influence of social cognitive variables on African American adolescents' interest in environmental science. The sample consisted of 132 (57 male, 75 female) high school seniors enrolled in an urban scientific and technical high school from which 95% of graduates continue in higher education. Results of the regression…

This article describes the development and psychometric assessment of a multidimensional, domain-specific Career Locus of Control Scale (CLOC) designed for use with adolescent school pupils engaged in the career development and decision-making process. A 47-item version was administered to 743 school pupils, age 15 or 16 years evenly split between…

Career interests, efficacy expectations, and parental support were measured for 120 Native American and 134 Caucasian adolescents. Native Americans had greater interest in Realistic and Commercial occupations and those requiring high school diploma, trade school, or two-year postsecondary education. They were similar to Caucasians in range of…

When 126 rural 10th-12th graders completed the "My Vocational Challenges" instrument, perceived parental support was a significant predictor of efficacy expectations and vocational interests. Using Holland's classifications, both genders associated men with "Realistic" and "Investigative" occupations and women with "Artistic" and "Conventional"…

Multiple regression analyses of data on career maturity, work commitment, work values, self-efficacy, age, and career decidedness were conducted for 367 Australian students in grades 8-12. Chief predictors of career maturity attitudes were age, gender, and career certainty. Commitment and career indecision were the main predictors of career…