Career calling, a salient career goal that is personally meaningful and oriented toward helping others, is a developmental construct that is especially important for emerging adults when making career decisions and setting career goals. As no existing measure reflects the developmental aspect of career calling, we devised an age-appropriate measure suitable for use with this population. We reviewed the extant literature, conducted focus groups, and used expert reviews to generate 34 initial items. Item and exploratory factor analyses were employed to reduce these items to 15, representing three reliable subscales (Study 1; N = 345 emerging adults). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the initial factor structure (Study 2; N = 527). Expected correlations with adult measures of career calling (search and presence), general career indecision, and life satisfaction supported construct validity (Study 2; N = 435). The implications for research and practice are discussed.
AmabileT. M.HillK. G.HennesseyB. A.TigheE. M. (1994). The work preference inventory: Assessing intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 66, 950–967. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ovidsp.ovid.com
2.
ArnettJ. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
3.
BanduraA. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 248–287. doi:10.1016/0749-5978(91)90022-L
4.
BellahR. N.MadsenR.SullivanW. M.SwidlerA.TiptonS. M. (1985). Habits of the heart. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
5.
BergJ. M.GrantA. M.JohnsonV. (2010). When callings are calling: Crafting work and leisure in pursuit of unanswered occupational callings. Organization Science, 21, 973–994. doi:10.1287/orsc.1090.0497
6.
BundersonJ. S.ThompsonJ. A. (2009). The call of the wild: Zookeepers, callings, and the double-edged sword of deeply meaningful work. Administrative Science Quarterly, 54, 32–57. doi:10.2189/asqu.2009.54.1.32
7.
BurgesN. J.ManuelR. S.DuffyR. D. (2013). Speciality interests and career calling to medicine among first-year medical students. Perspectives on Medical Education, 2, 14–17. doi:10.1007/s40037-012-0037-9
8.
ColozziE. A.ColozziL. C. (2000). College students’ callings and careers: An integrated values-oriented perspective. In LuzzoD. A. (Ed.), Career counselling of college students: An empirical guide to strategies that work (pp. 63–91). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/10362-004
9.
CostelloA. B.OsborneJ. W. (2005). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: Four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 10, 1–9. Retrieved fromhttp://www.pareonline.net
10.
CsikszentmihalyiM. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
11.
DaltonJ. C. (2001). Career and calling: Finding a place for the spirit in work and community. New Directions for Student Services, 95, 17–25. doi:10.1002/ss.19
12.
DiemerM. A.BlusteinD. L. (2007). Vocational hope and vocational identity: Urban adolescents’ career development. Journal of Career Assessment, 15, 98–118. doi:10.1177/1069072706294528
13.
DienerE.EmmonsR. A.LarsenR. J.GriffinS. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
14.
DikB. J.DuffyR. D. (2009). Calling and vocation at work. The Counseling Psychologist, 37, 424–450. doi:10.1177/0011000008316430
15.
DikB. J.EldridgeB. M.StegerM. F.DuffyR. D. (2012). Development and validation of the Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ) and Brief Calling Scale (BCS). Journal of Career Assessment, 20, 242–263. doi:10.1177/1069072711434410
16.
DikB. J.SargentA. M.StegerM. F. (2008). Career development strivings: Assessing goals and motivation in career decision-making and planning. Journal of Career Development, 35, 23–41. doi:10.1177/0894845308317934
17.
DikB. J.StegerM. F. (2008). Randomised trial of a calling-infused career workshop incorporating counselor self-disclosure. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73, 203–211. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.04.001
18.
DobrowS. (2004). Extreme subjective career success: A new integrated view of having a calling. Academy of Management Conference Best Paper Proceedings, Philadelphia. Retrieved fromhttp://www.bnet.fordham.edu/dobrow/Papers.html
19.
DobrowS. (2007). The development of calling: A longitudinal study of musicians. Academy of Management Conference, Philadelphia. Retrieved fromhttp://www.bnet.fordham.edu/dobrow/Papers.html
20.
DobrowS. R.Tosti-KharasJ. (2011). Calling: The development of a scale measure. Personnel Psychology, 64, 1001–1049. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01234.x
21.
DobrowS. R.Tosti-KharasJ. (2012). Listen to your heart? Calling and receptivity to career advice. Journal of Career Assessment, 20, 264–280. doi:10.1177/1069072711434412
22.
DuffyR. D.AllanB. A.BottE. M. (2012). Calling and life satisfaction among undergraduate students: Investigating mediators and moderators. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 469–479. doi:10.1007/s10902-011-9274-6
23.
DuffyR. D.AllanB. A.DikB. J. (2011). The presence of a calling and academic satisfaction: Examining potential mediators. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 74–80. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2010.11.001
24.
DuffyR. D.AutinK. L. (2013). Disentangling the link between perceiving a calling and living a calling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60, 219–227. doi:10.1037/a0031934
25.
DuffyR. D.BottE. M.AllanB. A.TorreyC. L.DikB. J. (2012). Perceiving a calling, living a calling, and job satisfaction: Testing a moderated, multiple mediator model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59, 50–59. doi:10.1002/j.2161-0045.2009.tb00171.x
26.
DuffyR. D.DikB. J. (2013). Research on calling: What have we learned and where are we going?Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83, 428–436. doi:org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.06.006
27.
DuffyR. D.ManuelR. S.BorgesN. J.BottE. M. (2011). Calling, vocational development, and well being: A longitudinal study of medical students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 33, 210–223. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2011.03.023
28.
DuffyR. D.SedlacekW. E. (2007). The presence of and search for a calling: Connections to career development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70, 590–601. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2007.03.007
29.
DuffyR. D.SedlacekW. E. (2010). The salience of a career calling among college students: Exploring group differences and links to religiousness, life meaning, and life satisfaction. The Career Development Quarterly, 59, 27–41. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com
30.
ElangovanA. R.PinderC. C.McLeanM. (2010). Callings and organizational behavior. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76, 428–440. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2009.10.009
31.
GermeijsV.De BoeckP. (2002). A measurement scale for indecisiveness and its relationship to career indecision and other types of indecision. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 18, 113–122. doi:10.1027//1015-5759.18.2.113
32.
GermeijsV.VerschuerenK.SoenensB. (2006). Indecisiveness and high school students’ career decision-making process: Longitudinal associations and the mediational role of anxiety. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 397–410. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.53.4.397
33.
GreenhausJ. H. (1971). An investigation of the role of career salience in vocational behavior. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 1, 209–216. doi:10.1016/0001-8791(71)90022-4
34.
HagmaierT.AbeleA. E. (2012). The multidimensionality of calling: Conceptualisation, measurement and a bicultural perspective. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 81, 39–51. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2012.04.001
35.
HairJ. F.BlackW. C.BabinB. J.AndersonR. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis. A global perspective (7th ed.). New Jersey, NJ: Prentice Hall.
36.
HallD. T.ChandlerD. E. (2005). Psychological success: When the career is a calling. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 155–176. doi:10.1002/job.301
37.
HardyL. (1990). The fabric of this world: Inquiries into calling, career choice, and the design of human work. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans.
38.
HavighurstR. J. (1953/1961). Human development and education. New York, NY: Longmans, Green.
39.
HernandezE. F.FoleyP. F.BeitinB. K. (2011). Hearing the call: A phenomenological study of religion in career choice. Journal of Career Development, 38, 62–88. doi:10.1177/0894845309358889
40.
HinkinT. R. (1998). A brief tutorial on the development of measures for the use in survey questionnaires. Organizational Research Methods, 1, 104–121. doi:10.1177/109442819800100106
41.
HirschiA. (2009). Career adaptability development in adolescence: Multiple predictors and effect on sense of power and life satisfaction. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74, 145–155. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2009.01.002
42.
HirschiA. (2011). Callings in career: A typological approach to essential and optional components. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 60–73. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2010.11.002
43.
HirschiA.HermannA. (2013). Calling and career preparation: Investigating developmental patterns and temporal precedence. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83, 51–60. doi:org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.02.008
44.
HunterI.DikB. J.BanningJ. H. (2010). College students’ perceptions of calling in work and life: A qualitative analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76, 178–186. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2009.10.008
45.
KahnW. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. The Academy of Management Journal, 33, 692–724. Retrieved fromhttp://www.jstor.org
46.
LockeE. A.LathamG. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
47.
LordR. G.DiefendorffJ. M.SchmidtA. M.HallR. J. (2010). Self-regulation at work. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 543–568. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100314
48.
LoscoccoK. A. (1989). The interplay of personal and job characteristics in determining work commitment. Social Science Research, 18, 370–394. doi:10.1016/0049-089x(89)90013-6
49.
LynnM. R. (1985). Determination and quantification of content validity. Nursing Research, 35, 382–386. doi:10.1097/00006199-198611000-00017
50.
NovakM. (1996). Business as a calling: Work and the examined life. New York, NY: The Free Press.
51.
NurmiJ. E. (1993). Adolescent development in an age-graded context: The role of personal beliefs, goals, and strategies in the tackling of developmental tasks and standards. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 16, 169–189. doi:10.1177/016502549301600205
52.
O’ConnorB. (2000). SPSS and SAS programs for determining the number of components using parallel analysis and Velicer’s MAP test. Behavior Research Methods, 32, 396–402. doi:10.3758/bf03200807
53.
RossoB. D.DekasK. H.WrzesniewskiA. (2010). On the meaning of work: A theoretical integration and review. Research in Organizational Behavior, 30, 91–127. doi:10.1016/j.riob.2010.09.001
54.
SharfR. S. (2006). Applying career development theory to counseling. Southbank, Australia: Thomson Wadsworth.
55.
ShulmanS.NurmiJ.-E. (2010). Dynamics of goal pursuit and personality make-up among emerging adults: Typology, change over time, and adaptation. In ShulmanS.NurmiJ.-E. (Eds.), The role of goals in navigating individual lives during emerging adulthood (pp. 57–70). San Francisco, CA: Wiley Periodicals.
56.
StegerM. F.PickeringN. K.ShinJ. Y.DikB. J. (2010). Calling in work: Secular or sacred?Journal of Career Assessment, 18, 82–96. doi:10.1177/1069072709350905
57.
VallerandR. J.BlanchardC.MageauG. A.KoestnerR.RatelleC.LeonardM.GagneM. (2003). Les passions de l'Ame: On obsessive and harmonious passion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 756–767. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.4.756
58.
VogtD. S.KingD. W.KingL. A. (2004). Focus groups in psychological assessment: Enhancing content validity by consulting members of the target population. Psychological Assessment, 16, 231–243. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.16.3.231
59.
WeissJ. W.SkelleyM. F.HaugheyJ. C.HallD. T. (2004). Calling, new careers and spirituality: A reflective perspective for organizational leaders and professionals. Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations, 5, 175–201. doi:10.1016/S1529-2096(03)05009-0
60.
WrzesniewskiA. (2012). Callings. In CameronK. S.SpreitzerG. M. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of positive organizational scholarship (pp. 45–55). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
61.
WrzesniewskiA.DekasK.RossoB. (2009). Callings. In LopezS.BeauchampA. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of positive psychology (pp. 115–118). Oxford, England: Blackwell.
62.
WrzesniewskiA.McCauleyC.RozinP.SchwartzB. (1997). Jobs, careers, and callings: People’s relations to their work. Journal of Research in Personality, 31, 21–33. doi:10.1006/jrpe.1997.2162
