The relationship of environmental exploration (EE) and self-exploration (SE) with three dimensions of career decision-making difficulties was examined in a sample of Chinese college students (N = 911) using a structural equation modeling model comparison approach. Results indicated that neither self- nor environmental exploration predicted lack of readiness difficulties, but both were equally predictive of information-deficit problems. Finally, only SE was predictive of information inconsistency. The implications of this study are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.
AllenJ.RobbinsS. (2010). Effects of interest-major congruence, motivation, and academic performance on timely degree attainment. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57, 23–35. doi:10.1037/a0017267
2.
BaiY. (2005). An outline history of China. Beijing, China: Tongxin Press.
3.
BartleyD. F.RobitschekC. (2000). Career exploration: A multivariate analysis of predictors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 63–81.
4.
BlusteinD. L. (1997). A context-rich perspective of career exploration across the life roles. The Career Development Quarterly, 45, 260–274.
5.
BrownS. D.HackerJ.AbramsM.CarrA.RectorC.LampK.,…SienaA. (2012). Validation of a four-factor model of career indecision. Journal of Career Assessment, 20, 3–21. doi:10.1177/1069072711417154.
6.
ChartrandJ. M.RobbinsS. B.MorrillW. H.BoggsK. (1990). Development and validation of the career factors inventory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 37, 491–501.
7.
ChenS. (2011). Relation of parental expectation, psychological separation, and career indecision among college students (Master's Thesis). Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
8.
FlumH.BlusteinD. (2000). Reinvigorating the study of vocational exploration: A framework for research. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 380–404.
9.
FouadN.CotterE.KantamneniN. (2009). The effectiveness of a career decision-making course. Journal of Career Assessment, 17, 338–347. doi:10.1177/1069072708330678
GatiI.KrauszM.OsipowS. H. (1996). A taxonomy of difficulties in career decision making. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 43, 510–526.
12.
GatiI.OsipowS. H.KrauszM.SakaN. (2000). Validity of the career decision-making difficulties questionnaire: Counselee versus career counselor perceptions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 99–113.
13.
GatiI.RyzhikT.VertsbergerD. (2013). Preparing young veterans for civilian life: The effects of a workshop on career decision-making difficulties and self-efficacy. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83, 373–385.
14.
GatiI.SakaN. (2001). Internet-based versus paper-and-pencil assessment: Measuring career decision-making difficulties. Journal of Career Assessment, 9, 397–416.
15.
GrotevantH. D. (1986). Exploration as a predictor of congruence in adolescents. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 29, 201–215.
16.
HollandJ. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed., p. 303). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
17.
HouZ. (2010). Chinese translation of the career decision-making difficulty questionnaire (Unpublished test). Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
18.
HouZ.LeungS. A. (2011). Vocational aspirations of Chinese high school students and their parents' expectations. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 349–360. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2011.05.008.
19.
HuL.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–55.
20.
KellyK. R.LeeW. C. (2002). Mapping the domain of career decision problems. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61, 302–326.
21.
KellyK. R.ShinY. J. (2009). Relation of neuroticism and negative career thoughts and feelings to lack of information. Journal of Career Assessment, 17, 201–213.
22.
KimB. S. K. (2007). Adherence to Asian and European American cultural values and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Asian American college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54, 474–480.
23.
LarsonL. M.HeppnerP. P.HamT.DuganK. (1988). Investigating multiple subtypes of career indecision through cluster analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 35, 439–446.
24.
LeongF. T. (1991). Career development attributes and occupational values of Asian American and White American college students. The Career Development Quarterly, 39, 221–230.
25.
LeungS.HouZ.GatiI.LiX. (2011). Effects of parental expectations and cultural-values orientation on career decision-making difficulties of Chinese University students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 78, 11–20.
26.
LiQ. (2008). A study on the relationship among career locus of control, career decision-making self-efficacy and career decision-making difficulty of university students (Master's Thesis). Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
27.
LiuC. J.HaoF.LiS. (2006). A preliminary report of career decision-making difficulties questionnaire in a college student sample [in Chinese]. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 20, 705–708.
28.
MaP. W.YehC. J. (2005). Factors influencing the career decision status of Chinese American youths. The Career Development Quarterly, 53, 337–347.
29.
MauW. (2001). Assessing career decision-making difficulties: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Career Assessment, 9, 353–364.
30.
MauW. (2004). Cultural dimensions of career decision-making difficulties. Career Development Quarterly, 53, 67–77.
31.
MuthénL. K.MuthénB. O. (2012). Chi-Square Difference Testing Using the Satorra-Bentler Scaled Chi-Square. Retrieved from http://www.statmodel.com/chidiff.shtml
32.
NautaM. M. (2007). Career interests, self-efficacy, and personality as antecedents of career exploration. Journal of Career Assessment, 15, 162–180. doi:10.1177/1069072706298018
33.
NautaM. M. (2010). The development, evolution, and status of Holland's theory of vocational personalities: Reflections and future directions for counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57, 11–22. doi:10.1037/a0018213
34.
OsipowS. (1999). Assessing career indecision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 55, 147–154.
35.
ParsonsF. (1909). Choosing a vocation. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
36.
PerdrixS.StaufferS.MasdonatiJ.MassoudiK.RossierJ. (2012). Effectiveness of career counseling: A one-year follow-up. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 565–578.
37.
SampsonJ.JrLenzJ.ReardonR.PetersonG. (1999). A cognitive information processing approach to employment problem solving and decision making. Career Development Quarterly, 48, 3–18.
38.
SchlomerG. L.BaumanS.CardN. A. (2010). Best practices for missing data management in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57, 1–10. doi:10.1037/a0018082
39.
SpokaneA. R.MeirE. I.CatalanoM. (2000). Person–environment congruence and Holland's theory: A review and reconsideration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 57, 137–187. doi:10.1006/jvbe.2000.1771
40.
StumpfS. A.ColarelliS. M.HartmanK. (1983). Development of the career exploration survey (CES). Journal of Vocational Behavior, 22, 191–226.
41.
TianL. (2007). The effect of problem solving group on college students' career indecision (Master's Thesis). Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
42.
TienH. (2005). The validation of the career decision-making difficulties scale in a Chinese culture. Journal of Career Assessment, 13, 114–127.
43.
TinsleyH. (2000). The congruence myth: An analysis of the efficacy of the person–environment fit model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 147–179.
44.
TriandisH. C. (1989). The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts. Psychological Review; Psychological Review, 96, 506–520.
45.
TriandisH. C. (1995). Individualism & collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
46.
XuC. (2008). Career decision-making self efficacy and its relation to anxiety and career exploration (Master's thesis). Central China Normal University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
47.
ZikicJ.HallD. (2009). Toward a more complex view of career exploration. Career Development Quarterly, 58, 181–191.
