The Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS), a measure developed to evaluate an individual’s level of career adaptability, was initially validated as consisting of four factors (concern, control, curiosity, and confidence). The following study explores the structural validity of the CAAS when a fifth factor, cooperation, is included. Beyond examining the structural validity, we additionally conducted a cross-cultural validation of the five-factor model across American, Chinese, and Taiwanese samples. Our cross-cultural comparisons provided some support for the factorial equivalence of the five-factor Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS-5) in terms of the configural model. However, the results for the scalar model gave some indication of nonequivalence. Follow-up analyses showed that all items functioned similarly across groups, suggesting that small deviations in item functioning may have resulted in nonequivalence when aggregated to the scale level. Given the conceptual importance of cooperation’s inclusion, we contend that future research on career adaptability should explore the CAAS-5 further.
BanduraA. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
2.
BanduraA. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: Worth.
3.
Casner-LottoJ.BarringtonL. (2006). Are they really ready to work? Employers’ perspectives on the basic knowledge and applied skills of new entrants to the 21st century US workforce. ERIC. New York: The Conference Board, Inc., the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate Voices for Working Families, and the Society for Human Resource Management.
4.
CheungF. M.LeungK.FanR. M.SongW.ZhangJ.ZhangJ. (1996). Development of the Chinese personality assessment inventory. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27, 181–199. doi:10.1177/0022022196272003
5.
CheungF. M.LeungK.ZhangJ. X.SunH. F.GanY. Q.SongW. Z.XieD. (2001). Indigenous Chinese personality construct: Is the Five Factor Model complete?Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 407–433. doi:10.1177/0022022101032004003
6.
CreedP. A.FallonT.HoodM. (2009). The relationship between career adaptability, person and situation variables, and career concerns in young adults. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74, 219–229. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.12.004
7.
de GuzmanA. B.ChoiK. O. (2013). The relations of employability skills to career adaptability among technical school students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 82, 199–207. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2013.01.009
8.
FreseM. (2000). The changing nature of work. In ChmielN. (Ed.), Introduction to work and organizational psychology: A European perspective (pp. 397–413). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
9.
GoodmanJ. (1994). Career adaptability in adults: A construct whose time has come. The Career Development Quarterly, 43, 74–84. doi:10.1002/j.2161-0045.1994.tb00848.x
10.
HardinE. E.LeongF. T. L.OsipowS. H. (2001). Cultural relativity in the conceptualization of career maturity. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58, 1–17. doi:10.1006/jvbe.2000.1762
11.
Hart Research Associates. (2015). Falling short? College learning and career success. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
12.
HofstedeG. (1980). Culture’s consequences. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
13.
JacklingB.De LangeP. (2009). Do accounting graduates’ sills meet the expectations of employers? A matter of convergence or divergence. Accounting Education: An International Journal, 18, 369–385. doi:10.1080/09639280902719341
14.
KoenJ.KleheU.-C.Van VianenA. E. (2012). Training career adaptability to facilitate a successful school-to-work transition. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 81, 395–408. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2012.10.003
15.
KoenJ.KleheU.-C.Van VianenA. E.ZikicJ.NautaA. (2010). Job-search strategies and reemployment quality: The impact of career adaptability. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77, 126–139. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2010.02.004
16.
LeongF. T. L.Ott-HollandC. (2014). Career adaptability: Theory and measurement. In Chan’sD. (Ed.), Individual adaptability to changes at work: New directions in research (pp. 95–114). A volume in the series in organizational and management. New York, NY: Routledge.
17.
LeongF. T. L.WalshW. B. (2012). Guest editors’ introduction to the special issue. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 659–660. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2012.03.003
18.
MeadeA. W.JohnsonE. C.BraddyP. W. (2008) Power and sensitivity of alternative fit indices in tests of measurement invariance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 568–592. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.568
19.
MuthénL. K.MuthénB. O. (2012). Mplus User’s Guide. Seventh Edition. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
20.
NevillD. D.SuperD. E. (1988). Career maturity and commitment to work in university students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 32, 139–151. doi:10.1016/0001-8791(88)90011-5
21.
NyeC. D.DrasgowF. (2011). Effect sizes indices for analyses of measurement equivalence: Understanding the practical importance of differences between groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 966–980. doi:10.1037/a0022955
22.
PloyhartR. E.BlieseP. D. (2006). Individual adaptability (I-Adapt) theory: Conceptualizing the antecedents, consequences and measurement of individual differences in adaptability. In BurkeC. S.PierceL. G.SalasE. (Eds.), Understanding adapatility: A prerequisite for effective performance within complex environments (pp. 3–39). Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Elsevier.
23.
PorfeliE. J.SavickasM. L. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-USA form: Psychometric properties and relation to vocational identity. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 748–753. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.009
24.
PowellD. F.LuzzoD. A. (1998). Evaluating factors associated with the career maturity of high school students. The Career Development Quarterly, 47, 145–158. doi:10.1002/j.2161-0045.1998.tb00548.x
25.
PulakosE. D.AradS.DonovanM. A.PlamondonK. E. (2000). Adaptability in the workplace: Development of a taxonomy of adaptive performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 612. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.85.4.612
26.
RottinghausP. J.BuelowK. L.MatyjaA.SchneiderM. R. (2012). The Career Futures Inventory–Revised: Measuring dimensions of career adaptability. Journal of Career Assessment, 20, 123–139.
27.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York, NY: Guilford.
28.
SavickasM. L. (1997). Career adaptability: An integrative construct for life-span, life-space theory. The Career Development Quarterly, 45, 247–259. doi:10.1002/j.2161-0045.1997.tb00469.x
29.
SavickasM. L. (2005). The theory and practice of career construction. In BrownS.LentR. (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 42–70). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
30.
SavickasM. L.PorfeliE. J. (2012). Career adapt-abilities scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 661–673. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.011
31.
SpurkD.KauffeldS.MeineckeA. L.EbnerK. (2016). Why do adaptable people feel less insecure? Indirect effects of career adaptability on job and career insecurity via two types of perceived marketability. Journal of Career Assessment, 24, 289–306. doi:10.1177/1069072715580415
32.
StarkS.ChernyshenkoO. S.DrasgowF. (2006). Detecting differential item functioning with confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory: Toward a unified strategy. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1292–1306. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.91.6.1292
33.
SuperD. E. (1951). Vocational adjustments: Implementing a self-concept. Occupations, 33, 88–92.
34.
SuperD. E. (1991). A life-span, life-space approach to career development. In BrownD.BrooksL. (Eds.), Career choice and development: Applying contemporary theories to practice (2nd ed., pp. 197–261). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
35.
TolentinoL. R.GarciaP. R. J. M.LuV. N.RestubogS. L. D.BordiaP.PlewaC. (2014). Career adaptation: The relation of adaptability to goal orientation, proactive personality, and career optimism. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84, 39–48. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2013.11.004
36.
UrbanaviciuteI.KairysA.PociuteB.LiniauskaiteA. (2014). Career adaptability in Lithuania: A test of psychometric properties and a theoretical model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 85, 433–442. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2014
