TPC-Journal-V2-Issue2

The Professional Counselor \Volume 2, Issue 2 109 variables measured by the self-appraisal and problem-solving subscales of the CDSES-SF. Coefficient alphas for the self-appraisal and problem-solving subscales have been reported as .73 and .75, respectively (Betz & Luzzo, 1996). The coefficient alphas for the current sample were .79 for self-appraisal and .77 for problem-solving. The test-retest reliability for the total scale across a 6-month period was reported to be .83 (Betz & Luzzo, 1996). Concurrent validity has been established with the Career Decision Scale indecision and certainty scales (Osipow, 1980) and the My Vocational Situation: Identity scale (Holland, Daiger, & Power, 1980). Convergent validity has been established with a generalized measure of self-efficacy (Betz & Klein, 1996). Career Exploratory Survey: Environmental Exploration and Self-Exploration (CES-EE & CES-SE; Blustein & Phillips, 1988; Stumpf, Colarelli, & Hartman, 1983) . In the present study, the 6-item Environmental Exploration and the 9-item Self-Exploration scales from the Career Exploration Survey (CES) were used to measure the observed variables that defined the present study’s latent variable, Career Exploratory Behavior. The CES-SE measures “the extent of career exploration involving self-assessment and retrospection within the last 3 months” and the CES-EE measures “the extent of career exploration regarding occupations, jobs, and organizations within the last 3 months” (Stumpf et al., 1983, p.196). Internal consistency for the two scales has been adequately demonstrated in the literature (CES-SE alpha = .82 to .88 and CES-EE alpha = .88 to .89) (Blustein & Phillips, 1988; Stumpf et al., 1983) and in the current sample (CES-SE alpha = .85 and CES-EE alpha .87). In addition, Blustein and Phillips (1988) reported two-week test-retest reliabilities of .85 and .83 for the CES-SE and CES-EE, respectively. Content validity for the scales has been confirmed with a theoretically consistent factor structure (Stumpf et al.). Convergent validity for both scales has been established with a variety of constructs (Blustein, 1989; Blustein & Phillips, 1988; Hamer & Bruch, 1997; Luzzo, James, & I.una, 1996; Stumpf et al., 1983). Results The relationships among career exploratory behavior, career thinking and career problem-solving self-efficacy were analyzed. All analyses were conducted using AMOS 7.0 (Arbuckle, 2006) and SPSS 16.0. Structural equation modeling (SEM) served as the framework for the analysis. The majority of the correlations among the present study’s observed variables were statistically significant (See Table 1) with a few exceptions. Self-exploration, a defining variable for the career exploratory behavior latent variable, was not significantly correlated with any of the career thinking observed variables. Environmental exploration, another defining variable for the career exploratory behavior latent variable, was not significantly correlated with external conflict, one of the defining variables of the career thinking latent variable. Table 1 Correlations, Means, and Standard Deviation of Study’s Observed Variables (N=145) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Environ. Exploration — .34** -.37** -.25** -.15 .32** .36** 2. Self Exploration — -.15 .01 .01 .23** .44** 3. Decision-Making Confusion — .71** .56** -.45** -.51** 4. Commitment Anxiety — .53** -.34** -.36** 5. External Conflict — -.28** -.23** 6. Problem Solving — .71** 7. Self-Appraisal — Mean 15.16 28.74 25.13 23.56 9.63 17.26 18.83 Standard Deviation 5.73 7.29 7.06 5.26 2.90 3.75 3.3 p < .001**