Date of Award

Spring 8-1-2004

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Communication Disorders and Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology

First Advisor

Michele C. Boyer

Second Advisor

Christy L. Coleman

Third Advisor

Peggy L. Hines

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between racial identity attitudes and career decision-making self-efficacy. Two hundred and forty-three African American undergraduate students completed a demographic questionnaire, the Cross Racial Identity Scale (Worrell, Vandiver, & Cross, 2000), and the Career Decision-Making SelfEfficacy- Short-Form (Betz and Taylor, 1994). Results from a hierarchial multiple regression revealed a significant negative relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy and pre-encounter self-hatred attitudes, and a significant positive relationship between internalization multiculturalist inclusive attitudes and career decision-making self-efficacy. The other four racial identity attitudes, pre-encounter assimilation, pre-encounter miseducation, immersion-emmersion anti-white, and internalization afrocentricity, were not significant predictors of career decision-making self-efficacy. Gender and socioeconomic status were also examined, but were not significant in the model for predicting career decision-making self-efficacy. Additionally, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted to examine the factor structure of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy-Short-Form when used with an African American undergraduate student sample. Results revealed a four-factor structure that included Information Gathering, Planning and Preparation, Goodness of Fit, and Self-Assessment and Action. This study identified important issues for further exploration, offered a critical first step for understanding the complex relationships among racial identity and career decision-making self-efficacy, and provided a foundation upon which future studies may build.

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