The presence of a calling and career development are assumed to be closely related. However, the nature of and reason for this relationship have not been thoroughly investigated. We hypothesized the existence of reciprocal effects between calling and three dimensions of career preparation and assessed the change of the presence of a calling,…

In this article we reflect on the increasingly popular concept of career capital, and apply the concept to data generated with a sample of women scientists. We propose that by examining career capital through a "gendered lens" we can provide insight into structural constraint, often missing in discussions of this concept. Based on the findings…

The purpose of this study was to examine a theoretically-based model in which insecure attachment is related to career indecision through the mediation of negative emotions. Two hundred college students completed questionnaires measuring anxious and avoidant dimensions of insecure attachment, negative emotions (trait and career-choice anxiety,…

This study examined open-ended responses from 295 college students to questions regarding how they define the construct of calling, how having a calling influences their career development, and the extent to which the term "calling" may apply to areas of life other than work. Results indicated that students perceived a calling as originating from…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which vocational interests have changed across birth cohorts of college students to better understand how socio-cultural factors may have an impact on career development. Using meta-analytic data collection methods, dissertations and journal articles presenting interests scores…

This study investigated gender and ethnic differences in the perception of different types of career barriers among young adults in relation to their views of themselves as individuals (Personal Career Barriers) and their views of their gender and ethnic group (Group Career Barriers). This study also explored gender and ethnic differences in the…

A sense of calling in career is supposed to have positive implications for individuals and organizations but current theoretical development is plagued with incongruent conceptualizations of what does or does not constitute a calling. The present study used cluster analysis to identify essential and optional components of a presence of calling…

We tested a social cognitive model of academic adjustment in a sample of 1377 students enrolled in engineering schools at two predominantly White and two historically Black state universities. The model brought together central elements of social cognitive career theory's (SCCT) segmental models of educational/vocational satisfaction, interest,…

Goldberg (Goldberg, L. R. (1999). "A broad-bandwidth, public-domain, personality inventory measuring the lower-level facets of several five-factor models." In: I. Mervielde, I. Deary, F. De Fruyt, & F. Ostendorf (Eds.), "Personality psychology in Europe" (Vol. 7, pp. 7-28). Tilburg, The Netherlands: Tilburg University…

We surveyed 506 Australian high school students on career development (exploration, planning, job-knowledge, decision-making, indecision), personal functioning (well-being, self-esteem, life satisfaction, school satisfaction) and control variables (parent education, school achievement), and tested differences among work-bound, college-bound and…

A randomized controlled trial was used to test (1) the efficacy of a two-session career development workshop for college student participants; (2) the effect of counselor self-disclosure on outcomes; and (3) the effect of infusing calling and vocation concepts on outcomes. Both standard (person-environment fit) and calling/vocation-infused…

Drawing on the mentoring, education, and social psychology literatures, this longitudinal study examines how the persistence of developmental relationships from an elite graduate school influences subjective career outcomes during early career. Participants (n=136) were surveyed about their developmental networks--a group of individuals who take…

The current study explored the relationship of the presence of, and search for, a calling to the career development of 3091 first year college students. The presence of a calling correlated positively with decidedness, comfort, self clarity and choice-work salience and correlated negatively with indecisiveness and lack of educational information.…

This study examines effects of the School-to-Work Group Method among 17-25-year-old young people facing the transition from vocational college to work. After baseline measurement (N=416) participants were randomized into experimental and control groups. The results of ten month follow-up (N=334) showed notable beneficial impacts of the group…

Measures of values typically appraise the construct globally, across life domains or relative to a broad life domain such as work. We conducted two studies to construct and initially validate an occupation- and context-specific values measure. Study 1, based on a sample of 192 medical students, describes the initial construction and item analysis…