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Weekly UpdatesThis study explored the potential relationship between the social cognitive variables of career decision-making self-efficacy and perceptions of barriers and the outcome variables of vocational identity and career exploration behaviors in a sample of 128 urban Latino/a high school students. The results indicated that higher levels of career decision-making self-efficacy were related to both a more differentiated vocational identity and a greater engagement with career exploration tasks. Perception of fewer barriers was also found to be related to a more integrated vocational identity. Implications for career counseling and future research are discussed.
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The term Latinos/as is a socioracial categorization, representing an aggregation of a number of distinct national subgroups (e.g., Puerto Rican, Mexican, Dominican, Cuban), based on supposed differences in cultural practices (e.g., language, religion) as compared with the Anglo-Saxon Protestant norm in the United States (Chapa & Valencia, 1993; Comaz-Diaz, 2001; Eamon & Mulder, 2005; Helms & Cooke, 1999). In 2002, 38.2 million Latinos/as resided in the United States, constituting 12% of the total U.S. population (Ramirez & de la Cruz, 2003). Although Latinos/as represent the fastest growing sector of the U.S. labor market, their levels of educational and occupational attainment remain significantly below that of non-Hispanic Whites (Ramirez & de la Cruz, 2003; Tsai, Pole, Levenson, & Munoz, 2003). Given the youthfulness of the Latino/a community as compared with other demographic groups (Eamon & Mulder, 2005; Hobbs & Stoops, 2002; Zayas, Lester, Cabassa, & Fortuna, 2005), Latinos/as constitute not only a growing proportion of the U.S. population but also a segment of the population likely to be making career-related decisions in the coming years.
Despite the occupational and educational discrepancies just noted, relatively little is known about the factors affecting the career development of Latino/a adolescents (Arbona, 1995; Fouad, 1995). Some authors have found support for the potential usefulness of the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) model of career development with Latino/a adolescents (e.g., Flores & O'Brien, 2002; McWhirter, 1997; McWhirter, Hackett, & Bandalos, 1998). The SCCT model highlights the role of cognitive factors such as self-efficacy beliefs and perceptions of barriers in career development (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994, 2002). According to Lent et al. (1994, 2002), interests are not simply expressions of personality. Rather, people's perceptions and appraisals of themselves and their environments play an important role. From this perspective, vocational inclinations can only become career interests to the extent that people believe they can perform the tasks required in a given occupation (i.e., self-efficacy) and do not perceive any overwhelming obstacles (i.e., barriers) to their success. The present study explored the relationship among perceptions of barriers, career decision-making self-efficacy, vocational identity, and engagement in career-related activities in a sample of Latino/a adolescents.
Decision-making self-efficacy has been identified as an important variable in the career development of high school students. Career decision-making self-efficacy refers to the degree to which individuals feel confident in their ability to successfully engage in tasks associated with making a career choice and with commitment to a career (Taylor & Betz, 1983). It has also been observed that career-related self-efficacy in general may prove to be an important element in formulating a model of career development for Latinos/as (Arbona, 1995; Fouad, 1995). Research has shown support for the relationship between career self-efficacy and career interests, as well as careers considered among young adult Latino/a students studying for high school equivalency degrees (Bores-Rangel, Church, Szendre, & Reeves, 1990; Church, Teresa, Rosebrook, & Szendre, 1992). Flores and O'Brien (2002) found that self-efficacy for nontraditional careers was negatively related to traditional career choices and positively related to prestige for a group of female Mexican American high school students. Research has not yet examined the role that career decision-making self-efficacy may play among Latino/a adolescents.
Latino/a adolescents may be affected not only by the sociocultural context in which they live but also by the meaning they attribute to that context (Kenny, Blustein, Chaves, Grossman, & Gallagher, 2003). According to SCCT, the number of barriers one perceives may be one way in which systemic factors shape an adolescent's career-related attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. Several vocational researchers have noted the potential influence that perceptions of barriers may have on the career decision-making process for people who face systemic factors (e.g., racial/ethnic discrimination, institutionalized racism) that have traditionally limited educational attainment and career advancement (Arbona, 1990; Lent et al., 1994). Brown and Lent (1996) observed that perceived educational and occupational barriers might negatively affect career development by limiting the translation of interests into goals and goals into actions. McWhirter (1997) noted that Mexican American high school students reported more perceived barriers than did their European American counterparts. However, in another sample of Mexican American adolescents, McWhirter et al. (1998) did not find a direct effect between perceptions of barriers and career expectations.
This study considers the potential influence of career decision-making self-efficacy and perceptions of barriers on vocational identity. One of the central tasks of adolescence is identity development (Erikson, 1963). In an effort to solidify a self-image, adolescents struggle to gain a better understanding of their own emotions, beliefs, and values. Additionally, they are likely to seek a sense of meaning or purpose in their lives and have a greater tendency to look toward the future in the conceptualization of an adult identity. An integral component of this process of identity formation is the establishment of a vocational identity, including a clearer and more stable sense of one's interests, abilities, and talents, as well as the ability to establish goals and make career-related decisions (Holland, Daiger, & Power, 1980). Super, Savickas, and Super (1996) observed that the establishment of a vocational identity--the assessment and knowledge of a person's objective vocational traits--serves as the basis for making occupation choices that are a good fit, consequently ensuring optimal adjustment outcomes. To our knowledge, no empirical studies have directly examined the construct of vocational identity in Latino/a high school students.
The present study also examined the potential impact of career decision-making self-efficacy and perceptions of barriers on career exploration behaviors. Specifically, activities related to career exploration (e.g., participating in a mock interview, conducting research on a specific career) provide students with the opportunity to explore their interests and therefore enhance their career development. Previous researchers have examined the potential impact of career exploration behaviors within the context of career development as well as the factors that may, in turn, influence the type and number of career activities in which an individual chooses to engage (Blustein, 1989; Luzzo, James, & Luna, 1996; Nevill & Schlecker, 1988; Solberg, Good, Fischer, Brown, & Nord, 1995). In particular, Solberg et al. found that in a study of 426 college men and women, the degree to which individuals believed that they could successfully perform a variety of career exploration tasks was related to the number of career-related activities performed. Blustein also found evidence that suggests that college students with higher levels of career decision-making self-efficacy were more inclined to engage in career exploration behavior than were college students with lower levels of career decision-making self-efficacy. These results suggest that career exploration behavior is an important construct to consider in the context of student career development. However, researchers have yet to examine this variable as it relates to a Latino/a high school population.
Some authors have noted gender differences in career achievement for Latino/as (e.g., Flores & O'Brien, 2002), whereas others have highlighted differences in gender socialization within various Latino cultures (e.g., Gomez et al., 2001; McWhirter, 1997). The few studies that have examined gender differences in the career development of Latino/a adolescents from an SCCT perspective have reported mixed results. For instance, McWhirter found that Mexican American high school male adolescents reported fewer perceived barriers to career development than did Mexican American female adolescents. However, in another study, a structural model featuring a number of social cognitive variables (including perceived barriers) that predicted career expectations fit samples of Mexican American male and female adolescents equally well (McWhirter et al., 1998). Thus, McWhirter et al. found no significant gender differences in how these variables influenced Latino/a career development.
The present study examined the ways in which the social cognitive variables of career decision-making self-efficacy and perceptions of barriers may be related to the vocational identity and number of career-related activities undertaken in a sample of Latino/a adolescents. On the basis of the aforementioned literature, it was expected that lower levels of perceived barriers and a greater sense of career decision-making self-efficacy would predict a more integrated vocational identity and increased engagement in career exploration tasks. In addition, because of inconsistent study findings in the literature noted earlier, gender was included in the model to assess any potential gender differences. The present study used both psychological (vocational identity) and behavioral (career search activities) outcome measures to assess the influence of career decision-making self-efficacy and perceptions of barriers within this understudied population.
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