This study investigated the influence of Chinese graduates' career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE) and the moderating effect of career options on career decisions. Graduates (92 men, 119 women, 5 unreported gender; M age = 22.3 yr., SD = 1.2) from four different types of universities in Zhejiang Province participated in the study. CDMSE was measured with the CDMSE Scale for University Students, and participants rated their choices on 3 career options with different levels of risk. The results showed that participants were more likely to choose a high-risk option, and that career options moderated the relation between graduates' CDMSE and career decision. Graduate career counseling programs should encourage students to develop more reasonable career goals that match their skills.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AjzenI. (2002) Perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, locus of control, and the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 4, 665–683.
2.
BetzN. E. (2004) Contributions of self-efficacy theory to career counseling: A personal perspective. The Career Development Quarterly, 54, 340–353.
3.
BetzN. E.HackettG. (1986) Applications of self-efficacy theory to understanding career choice behavior. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 3, 279–289.
4.
BetzN. E.KleinK. L.TaylorK. M. (1996) Evaluation of a short form of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 4, 47–57.
5.
BetzN. E.LuzzoD. A. (1996) Career assessment and the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 4, 413–428.
6.
ChenS. P.ZhangY. (2009) Effects of risk preference and framing effect on college students' career decision-making. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 3, 183–187.
7.
ChungY. B. (2002) Career decision-making self-efficacy and career commitment: Gender and ethnic differences among college students. Journal of Career Assessment, 4, 277–284.
8.
CreedP.PattonW.PrideauxL. A. (2006) Causal relationship between career indecision and career decision-making self-efficacy: A longitudinal cross-lagged analysis. Journal of Career Development, 1, 47–65.
9.
FabioA. D.PalazzeschiL.Asulin-PeretzL.GatiI. (2013) Career indecision versus indecisiveness: Associations with personality traits and emotional intelligence. Journal of Career Assessment, 21, 42–56.
10.
GardronJ. P. (2011) A psychometric evaluation of the Career Decision Self-efficacy Scale-Short Form among French university students. Journal of Career Assessment, 19, 420–430.
11.
GuayF.SenécalC.GauthierL.FernetC. (2003) Predicting career indecision: A self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50, 165–177.
12.
GushueG. V.Scanlan-KoloneR. L.PantzerK. M.ClarkeC. P. (2006) The relationship of career decision-making self-efficacy vocational identity, and career exploration behavior in African American high school students. Journal of Career Development, 1, 19–28.
13.
JinL. L.YeS. Q.WatkinsD. (2012) The dimensionality of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form among Chinese graduate students. Journal of Career Assessment, 20, 520–529.
14.
KirschI. (1986) Early research on self-efficacy: What we already know without knowing we knew. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4, 339–358.
15.
LentR. W.BrownS. D.HackettG. (1994) Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45(1), 79–122.
16.
LuzzoD. A. (1993) Value of career-decision-making self-efficacy in predicting career-decision-making attitudes and skills. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2, 194–199.
OsipowS. H.GatiI. (1998) Construct and concurrent validity of the Career Decisionmaking Difficulties Questionnaire. Journal of Career Assessment, 6, 347–364.
19.
PaulsenA. M.BetzN. E. (2004) Basic confidence predictors of career decision-making self-efficacy. The Career Development Quarterly, 52, 354–362.
20.
PengY. X.LongL. R. (2001) Research on Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale in Chinese college students. Applied Psychology, 7, 38–43.
21.
QiuG. P.ZhangL. J. (2009) Research on employment pressure of university graduates. Education Theory and Practice, 5, 6–8.
22.
RobbinsS. B. (1985) Validity estimates for the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 18, 64–71.
23.
Schermelleh-EngelK.MoosbruggerH. (2003) Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research, 8(2), 23–74.
24.
StajkovicA. D.LuthansF. (1998) Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 2, 240–261.
25.
TaylorK. M.BetzN. E. (1983) Applications of self-efficacy theory to the understanding and treatment of career indecision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 22, 63–81.
26.
TaylorK. M.PopmaJ. (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(1), 17–31.
27.
WenZ. L.HauK. T.ChangL. (2005) A comparison of moderator and mediator and their applications. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 2, 268–274.
28.
ZhangH.YaoJ. (2009) The analysis of the graduates' employment psychological disorder and adjustment in vocational school. Journal of Lianyungang Technical College, 1, 71–74.
29.
ZhaoX.LiN.ZhangD. J. (2009) The relationship between undergraduates' career decision-making self-efficacy and career maturity. Vocational Education Research, 4, 73–75.
