TPC-Journal-V2-Issue2

The Professional Counselor \Volume 2, Issue 2 108 exploration and environmental exploration). These were framed in terms of a causal model amenable to analysis through structural equation modeling (SEM). Therefore, a model was proposed (See Figure 4) with a bi-directional relationship between the career thinking and career problem-solving self-efficacy latent variables, as well as career thinking and career problem-solving self-efficacy predicting career exploratory behavior. This theorized model can be illustrated by returning to the case of Sue. Her level of negative thought together with the lack of perceived competency in self-appraisal and problem-solving severely impeded her ability to engage in self- exploration and environmental exploration. The model graphically portrays Sue’s circumstance and the hypothetical relationships among these theoretical constructs. Method Participants Participants were 145 undergraduate students (51% female and 49% male, age range 18–36, mean age 21.8) enrolled in multiple sections of an introductory career development course at a research university. The common reason for enrolling in this elective course was to receive assistance in making a career decision or to solve a problem related to career issues. Ethnicity and classification demographics of the sample include: European American 71%, African American 21.4%, Hispanic American 5.5%, American Indian 0.7%, Other 1.4%, seniors 62.1%, sophomores 16.6%, juniors 15.9%, freshmen 4.8% and graduate students 0.7%. Procedures College students enrolled in an introductory level career development course were recruited to participate in this study. During a regularly scheduled class period, students in the course were read consent information by a research assistant. It was explained that the purpose of the study was to learn more about college students’ experiences. Participants were then administered a demographics questionnaire, the Career Thoughts Inventory, the Career Decision-Making Self- Efficacy Scale, and the Career Exploratory Survey: Environmental Exploration and Self-Exploration. The order in which the instruments were administered was randomly alternated to control for possible order effects. Students who agreed to participate received extra credit in the course. All measures were simultaneously collected on the first or second day of class to help control for missing data and environmental factors. Instruments Demographic Questionnaire. The demographic questionnaire included information such as age, gender, year in school, major, previous work experience, extracurricular activities and ethnicity. This measure was used to describe the study sample. Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI; Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1998). The CTI is a 48-item self-report inventory designed to measure career thoughts. The CTI measures negative thoughts that impede career decision-making using a four-point Likert scale. The CTI yields three subscale scores: Decision-Making Confusion (DMC), Commitment Anxiety (CA), and External Conflict (EC). Higher scores indicate negative career thinking. In the present study, the CTI subscales were the observed variables’ measures that defined the latent variable, Career Thinking. The CTI’s content validity is based on its consistency with the cognitive information processing (CIP) approach of career decision-making. The internal consistency for this measure is high with a coefficient alpha of r = .96 (Sampson et al., 1998) and .95 for the current sample. Subscale internal consistency for the current sample was Decision-Making Confusion (.92), Commitment Anxiety (.84) and External Conflict (.75). Test-retest reliability was measured in college and high students across 4 weeks and ranged from .74–.82 (Sampson et al., 1998). CTI total score converged with Indecision Scale of the Career Decision Scale at .70. Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (CDSES-SF; Betz & Luzzo, 1996). The CDSES-SF is a 25- item self-report inventory designed to measure career decision-making self-efficacy. Using a five-point Likert scale, the CDSES-SF measures confidence to perform decision-making tasks in five competency areas: performing accurate self-appraisals, gathering occupational information, selecting goals, making plans to implement career decisions and problem-solving. These five competency areas that make up the factor structure of the CDSES-SF are based on Crites’ (1969) theory of career maturity. The latent variable, career problem-solving self-efficacy, was comprised of two observed