Practice and research in career counseling and development--2006.

Constantine, Miville, Warren, Gainor, and Lewis-Coles explored the interrelationships of religion, spirituality, and career development in a sample of 12 African American undergraduate students, who ranged in age from 18 to 22 years. Data obtained through semistructured interviews were analyzed by using consensual qualitative research methodology. The results identified six primary themes related to these students' experiences: (a) degree of identification as religious and/or spiritual, (b) parents' influence on religious and/or spiritual beliefs, (c) roles of religion and/or spirituality in participants' career development, (d) challenges in dealing with academic and career-related issues, (e) religious and/or spiritual strategies for dealing with academic and career-related challenges, and (f) indicators of success in future careers or occupations. Overall, spiritual and/or religious activities, such as praying, reading the Bible, and attending church, provided specific concrete activities that African American college students used to alleviate academic and career-related stress. The impact of religion and spirituality on career choice behavior was similar to following a "calling" and having passion for one's vocation.

Professional Issues: Summary and Conclusion

Career development through the life span was a theme in many studies this year. Most studies used samples from school-age children, adolescents, and college students. Some studies were related to testing the effects of particular career programs or curricula, whereas others were interested in the relationships among career variables. These studies were conducted to provide practitioners and researchers a better understanding of individuals' career development characteristics. The research also highlighted the efforts of career practitioners to incorporate career components into the school curriculum. Studies were designed to examine effects of programs based on specific theoretical concepts. Studies regarding special group needs were also conducted. Research on special topics such as boundaryless career, protean career, and competence-based career development were related to social contextual changes. Topics related to the development trends of positive psychology and psychological well-being were also of concern to career researchers, for example, factors regarding spirituality and religion, and family-work conflict/balance/enrichment. Many studies examined multicultural, cross-national, international, and global perspectives. This continuing emphasis on international career development and culture has also encouraged counselors and scholars in the United States to take interest in the global community. Many international studies were conducted collaboratively by scholars from different countries. In addition, it has become clear that the issue of unemployment and social exclusion cannot be considered in isolation from larger social and economic problems. Cooperation among professionals from different organizations or universities is needed to develop holistic solutions.

Career Theories and Concepts

Among the traditional theories, Lent et al.'s (1994) SCCT dominated the research studies in 2006. The Journal of Career Assessment (Vol. 14, No. 1) featured the theory of social self-efficacy. Career variables related to decision making, such as decision-making difficulties, indecisiveness, role models, and career barriers, were also the focus of many studies. Psychological theories applied in career development were also of interest to researchers and practitioners. Among these were the postmodern theories of constructivism/constructionism and positive psychology. Issues related to family-work conflict/balance/enrichment were also of concern to researchers in counseling and organizational psychology. The increased contribution of international scholars to the literature distinguished this year from previous years.

Parsons

Frank Parsons is believed to be the founder of career counseling. His well-known book, Choosing a Vocation, was published in 1909, the year after his death. Hershenson believed that people know Parsons's contributions well but that it is also important to honor the contributions of at least three persons who enabled and perpetuated Parsons's work--Pauline Agassiz Shaw, Meyer Bloomfield, and Ralph Albertson. Shaw had the foresight and monetary assets needed to fund the realization of Parsons's ideas about vocational guidance. Choosing a Vocation was dedicated to Shaw, and Bloomfield was the holder of the copyright and the director of the Civic Service House, which was founded by Shaw. Bloomfield encouraged Parsons to communicate his ideas with Shaw. The third supporter, Albertson, wrote the introductory note in the book. Albertson acted as Parsons's literary executor and prepared the manuscript of Choosing a Vocation for publication after Parsons's death. Although few empirical studies were conducted based on Parsons's ideas of choosing a vocation, the concepts of understanding self, understanding the world of work, and true reasoning were still three important concepts used by career counselors and vocational psychologists.

Super's Career Development Theory

Super's (1957) career development theory has long been studied in vocational psychology. Giannantonio and Herley-Hanson applied "image norms" across Super's career development stages. They proposed that there are three sets of image norms associated with an individual's self-concept and that these norms may influence the individual's career behavior across the five stages of career development. The first set was "occupational stereotypes," which included certain images that an individual needed to possess in order to enter or leave some occupational fields. The second set was "self image," which is similar to Super's self concept. The third set of image norms was "organizational image," which was used to describe general impressions of an organization. With the three sets of image norms, people explore the world of work, obtain career awareness, and finish certain developmental tasks through the five stages of career development. When opportunities for transitions occur, an individual's perceptions of these image norms may influence his or her decision to change or stay in the original organization/job.

Theory of Work Adjustment

Withrow and Shoffner applied the Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA; Dawis & Lofquist, 1984) constructs to career women with anorexia nervosa symptoms. Because data indicate that these women tend to be perfectionistic, obsessive compulsive, competitive, intelligent, and well-educated, they are likely to fit into the work personality of altruism, achievement, and autonomy according to the TWA. Regarding work environment, they proposed that physical attractiveness should be added to the typical job requirements for working women because it can offer certain advantages. In addition to achievement and recognition, weight control was also a type of personal and career achievement for women with anorexia nervosa. Correspondence between environment and personality was said to be achieved when the environment was able to fulfill these women's personal need to be thin and they could fulfill the task needs required by the job. To increase the fit between person and environment, Withrow and Shoffner proposed the use of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) to help these women change their work personality within the work environment or to promote change in the environment itself.

Chiocchio and Frigon tested the TWA with a sample of mentally challenged individuals. On the basis of TWA, it was hypothesized that employee satisfaction (ES) and flexibility of the work environment would moderate the functional relationship between satisfaction in the work environment (WS) and the correspondence between job requirements and employees' abilities. In their study, 52 candidates who were mentally challenged were placed in 53 work settings. In total, 61 matches were made on the basis of commensurate measures, and data were collected for 16 weeks after individuals received job placement. Results showed that ES was a mediator of job satisfaction in the work environment whereas flexibility of the work environment was not. ES and WS together contributed to the ability to predict tenure.

Holland's Model

Holland's (1985) hexagon model continued to be one of the premier theories in the career literature. Piasentin and Chapman reviewed 46 empirical studies regarding the measurement of person-organization (P-O) fit. They were concerned with individual differences in fit perceptions and tried to develop a standard process to validate measures of P-O fit that incorporated the multidimensional nature of such a fit.