This study surved 166 students when they were in Grade 8 of high school and then again when they were in Grade 10, using measures of career indecision and career decision-making self-efficacy. Consistent with social-cognitive theories, the authors hypothesized that changes in self-efficacy over time would be causally associated with changes in career indecision over time. Using latent variable analyses, the authors estimated a two-wave, longitudinal, cross-lagged panel design and find that contrary to expectations, changes in career decision-making self-efficacy did not result in changes in career indecision, despite significant contemporaneous associations at both times. Theoretical and applied implications are highlighted.
Arbuckle, J. L., & Wothke, W. (1995). Amos 4.0 user’s guide. Chicago: Small Waters Corporation.
2.
Bagozzi, R. P., & Edwards, J. R. (1998). A general approach for representing constructs in organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 1, 45-87.
3.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.
4.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5.
Bentler, P. M., & Chou, C. P. (1987). Practical issues in structural equation modeling. Sociological Methods and Research, 16, 78-117.
6.
Betz, N. E., Klein, K. L., & Taylor, K. M. (1996). Evaluation of a short form of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 4, 47-57.
7.
Betz, N. E., & Luzzo, D. A. (1996). Career assessment and the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 4, 413-428.
8.
Betz, N. E., & Taylor, K. (2001). Manual for the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale and CDMSE - Short form. Columbus: Department of Psychology, Ohio State University.
9.
Betz, N. E., & Voyten, K. (1997). Efficacy and outcome expectations influence career exploration and decidedness. The Career Development Quarterly, 46, 179-189.
10.
Blustein, D. L. (1989). The role of goal instability and career self-efficacy in the career exploration process. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 35, 194-203.
11.
Byrne, B. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS. London: Lawrence Erlbaum.
12.
Creed, P. A., & Patton, W. (2003). Predicting two components of career maturity in school based adolescents. Journal of Career Development, 29(4), 277-290.
13.
Creed, P. A., Patton, W., & Watson, M. (2002). Cross-cultural equivalence of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale - Short form: An Australian and South African comparison. Journal of Career Assessment, 10(3), 327-342.
14.
Creed, P. A., Prideaux, L., & Patton, W. (2005). Antecedents and consequences of career decisional states in adolescence. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67, 397-412.
15.
Crites, J. O. (1961). A model for the measurement of vocational maturity. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 8, 255-259.
16.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour. New York: Plenum.
17.
Feehan, P. F., & Johnston, J. A. (1999). The self directed search and career self-efficacy. Journal of Career Assessment, 7, 145-160.
18.
Finkel, S. E. (1995). Causal analysis with panel data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
19.
Fouad, N. A. (1994). Annual review 1991-1993: Vocational choice, decision-making, assessment, and indecision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 125-176.
20.
Gati, I., & Saka, N. (2001). Career-related decision-making difficulties of high-school students. Journal of Counseling and Development, 79(3), 331-340.
21.
Gati, I., Kraus, M., & Osipow, S. (1996). A taxonomy of difficulties in career decision making. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 43(4), 510-526.
22.
Germeijs, V., & De Boeck, P. (2002). A measurement scale for indecisiveness and its relationship to career indecision and other types of indecision. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 18(2), 113-122.
23.
Gianakos, I. (1999). Patterns of career choice and career decision-making self-efficacy. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 244-258.
24.
Gordon, V. N. (1981). The undecided student: A developmental perspective. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 59, 433-439.
25.
Gottfredson, L. S. (1981). Circumscription and compromise: A developmental theory of occupational aspirations. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28, 545-579.
26.
Guay, F., Senécal, C., Gauthier, L., & Fernet, C. (2003). Predicting career indecision: A self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50(2), 165-177.
27.
Hackett, G., & Betz, N. E. (1981). A self-efficacy approach to the career development of women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 18, 326-339.
28.
Hartman, B., Fuqua, D., & Hartman, P. (1983). The construct validity of the Career Decision Scale administered to high school students. Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 31, 250-258.
29.
Hartman, B., Fuqua, D., Blum, C., & Hartman, P. (1985). A study of the predictive validity of the Career Decision Scale in identifying longitudinal patterns of career indecision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 27, 202-209.
30.
Hartman, B. W., & Hartman, P. T. (1982). The concurrent and predictive validity of the Career Decision Scale administered to high school students. Psychological Reports, 52, 95-100.
31.
Hartman, B. W., Utz, P. W., & Farnum, S. O. (1979). Examining the reliability and validity of an adapted scale of educational-vocational undecidedness in a sample of graduate students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 15, 224-230.
32.
Hartung, P. J., Porfeli, E. J., & Vondracek, F. W. (2005). Child vocational development: A review and reconsideration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 66, 385-419.
33.
Landis, R. S., Beal, D. J., & Tesluck, P. E. (2000). A comparison of approaches to forming composite measures in structural equation models. Organizational Research Methods, 3, 186-207.
34.
Lapan, R. T., Boggs, K. R., & Morrill, W. H. (1989). Self-efficacy as a mediator of investigative and realistic general occupational themes in the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 36, 176-182.
35.
Lee, K. (2005). Coping with career indecision: Differences between four career choice types. Journal of Career Development, 31, 279-289.
36.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79-122.
37.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1996). Career development from a social cognitive perspective. In D. Brown & L. Brooks (Eds.), Career choice and development (3rd ed., pp. 373-422). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
38.
Mau, W. C. (1995). Decision-making style as a predictor of career decision-making status and treatment gains. Journal of Career Assessment, 3, 89-99.
39.
McWhirter, E. H., Rasheed, S., & Crothers, M. (2000). The effects of high school career education on social cognitive variables. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(3), 330-341.
40.
Multon, K. D., & Lapan, R. T. (1995). Developing scales to evaluate career and personal guidance curricula in a high school setting. Journal of Career Development, 21, 293-305.
41.
Neville, D. D., & Schlecker, D. I. (1988). The relationship of self-efficacy and assertiveness to willingness to engage in traditional/nontraditional career activities. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 12, 91-98.
42.
Nota, L., & Soresi, S. (2003). An assertiveness training program for indecisive students attending an Italian university. Career Development Quarterly, 51, 32-54.
43.
Osipow, S. H. (1980). Manual for the Career Decision Scale. Columbus, Ohio: Marathon Consulting and Press.
44.
Osipow, S. H. (1987). Career Decision Scale manual. Odessa, FL: Psych. Assessment Resources.
45.
Osipow, S. H. (1999). Assessing Career Indecision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 55, 147-154.
46.
Patton, W., & Creed, P. A. (2001). Developmental issues in career maturity and career decision status. The Career Development Quarterly, 49, 336-351.
47.
Patton, W., Creed, P. A., & Watson, M. (2003). Perceived work related and non-work related barriers in the career development of Australian and South African adolescents. Australian Journal of Psychology, 55, 74-82.
48.
Prideaux, L., & Creed, P. A. (2001). Career maturity, career decision-making self-efficacy and career indecision: A review of the accrued evidence. Australian Journal of Career Development, 10(3), 7-12.
49.
Prideaux, L., Creed, P. A., Muller, J., & Patton, W. (2000). A review of career interventions from an educational perspective: Have interventions shed any light?Swiss Journal of Psychology, 59(4), 221-226.
50.
Prideaux, L., Patton, W., & Creed, P. A. (2002). Development of a theoretically derived school career program: An Australian endeavour. International Journal of Education and Vocational Guidance, 2, 115-130.
51.
Robbins, S. B. (1985). Validity estimates for the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 18, 64-71.
52.
Rojewski, J. W. (1994). Career indecision types for rural adolescents from disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged backgrounds. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 41(3), 356-363.
53.
Savickas, M. L. (1997). Career adaptability: An integrative construct for life-span, life-space theory. The Career Development Quarterly, 45, 247-259.
54.
Solberg, V. S., Good, G. E., & Nord, D. (1994). Career search self-efficacy: Ripe for applications and intervention programming. Journal of Career Development, 21, 63-72.
55.
Staley, W. (1996, November). The relationship between fear of success, self-concept, and career decision making. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, Tuscaloosa, AL.
56.
Stead, G. B., & Watson, M. B. (1993). How similar are the factor structures of the Career Decision Scale, the Career Decision Profile, and the Career Factors Inventory?Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53, 281-290.
57.
Super, D. E. (1957). The psychology of careers: An introduction to vocational development. New York: Harper & Row.
58.
Taris, T. (2000). A primer in longitudinal data analysis. London: Sage.
59.
Taylor, K. M., & Betz, N. E. (1983). Applications of self-efficacy theory to the understanding and treatment of career indecision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 22(1), 63-81.
60.
Taylor, K. M., & Popma, J. (1990). An examination of the relationships among career decision-making self-efficacy, career salience, locus of control, and vocational indecision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 37, 17-31.
61.
Tinsley, H. E. A. (1992). Career decision making and career indecision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 41, 209-211.
62.
Tinsley, H. E. A., Bowman, S. L., & York, D. C. (1989). Career Decision Scale, My Vocational Situation, Vocational Rating Scale: Do they measure the same constructs?Journal of Counseling Psychology, 36, 115-120.
63.
Tracey, J. G., & Darcey, M. (2002). An idiothetic examination of vocational interests and their relation to career decidedness. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49(4), 420-427.
64.
Vondracek, F. W., & Kawasaki, T. (1995). Toward a comprehensive framework for adult career development theory and intervention. In W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.), Handbook of vocational psychology: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 111-141). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
65.
Vondracek, F. W., Schulenberg, J. E., Skorikov, B., Gillespie, L. K., & Wahlheim, C. (1995). The relationship of identity status to career indecision during adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 18, 17-29.
66.
Wanberg, C. R., & Muchinsky, P. M. (1992). A typology of career decision status: Validity extension of the vocational decision status model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 27, 71-80.
67.
Watson, M. B., Brand, H. J., Stead, G. B., & Ellis, R. R. (2001). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale among South African university students. Journal of Industrial Psychology, 27(1), 143-146.
68.
Watson, M. B., Foxcroft, C. D., & Stead, G. B. (1991). Factor analysis of the career decision scale on South African high school students. Psychological Reports, 69, 1083-1088.
