Identity Structure,Narrative Accounts,and Commitment to a Volunteer Role

Degree of commitment was explored in relation to core self and role-identity. Thirty-one American emergency medical technicians (EMTs) described themselves in the EMT role (EMT now) and the way they anticipated they would be in the future (EMT future) by selecting items from an adjective checklist. Participants also described “real me,” “ideal me,” and “ought me.” Ratings of commitment and extranormative activity were also obtained. Finally, participants described a positive and a negative episode they had experienced as an EMT in an open-ended question that was coded for task and relational content. Each participant's checklist data set was individually analyzed using HICLAS, a clustering algorithm for binary data (P. DeBoeck, S. Rosenberg, & I. Van Mechelen, 1993). Results indicate that the similarity between EMT now and real me best predicted activity and the similarity between EMT future and real me best predicted commitment (positive correlations in both cases). Older, more experienced EMTs tended to describe positive episodes in relational terms, whereas younger, less experienced EMTs described positive experiences in task-oriented terms.     

Differences in the demographic and sociopsychological profile of ROTC vs Non-ROTC students

The demographic and sociopsychological profile of 102 high school and 754 college Army ROTC cadets was compared and contrasted against that of their non-ROTC classmates. The ROTC students were found to differ from their classmates in military background, academic aptitude, personal values, attributes sought in a job, political position, bureaucratic tendencies, and other socio-psychological characteristics. These differences grew larger with time, as progressively older samples of cadets and noncadets were studied. Because of the cross-sectional nature of the present study, it was not possible to determine the extent to which these widening differences were due to: (a) selection differences present at the moment of entry into ROTC; (b) attrition from the ROTC group of cadets with a “deviant” profile; and/or (c) actual changes in cadets brought about by exposure to a military career. Nevertheless, these findings point to the possible existence of a “military personality” that is evident at early career development stages and even among ROTC civilians supposed to provide a “leavening” effect on the United States military.     

The effect of self‐regulated decision making on career path and major‐related career choice satisfaction

The present research examined the influence of self‐regulated decision making on satisfaction in career path (college major for Study 1, job for Study 2) and major‐related career choice. Results indicate a full mediating effect of fit in the relationship between self‐regulated decision making and satisfaction in career path. Self‐regulated decision making also influenced major–job congruence via satisfaction with a participant's college major. Findings suggest that individuals who possess self‐regulatory ability in decision‐making contexts were more likely to choose majors and jobs of good fit, experience satisfaction from their career decisions, and choose careers relevant to their college majors.     

The use of expectancy theory in the explanation of turnover in ROTC

A questionnaire was administered to 142 mate students who were enrolled in ROTC and 18 male students who had dropped out of ROTC. Several months later seven of the above 142 subjects dropped out of ROTC. A ratio expectancy theory model was developed from the questionnaire as an operational definition of motivation to remain in ROTC. The results indicated that the 25 dropouts had a significantly lower (p < .001) score on this motivational measure than the 135 subjects who were still enrolled in ROTC, and also that these latter subjects were as strongly attracted to a civilian job as they were to an Army job. The implications of these findings relative to the ability of the Army to attract career officers were discussed.     

Academic career intention beyond the PhD: can the theory of planned behavior explain gender differences?

Are women less interested in becoming professors than men? We applied the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate the intention to pursue an academic career. Postdocs who recently finished their PhD at a German university participated in an online survey (N = 380, mean age: 33; 45% women). Women reported lower academic career intentions (d = 0.40); TPB variables (attitude, subjective norm, self‐efficacy) explained 87% of this gender difference. At an 8 month follow‐up, we found no gender difference in the intention to continue in an academic career among the postdocs who were still working in academia (n = 129). Addressing TPB constructs early in women's academic careers could encourage them to remain in academia and strive for a professorship.     

Career Development: An Outline of Issues for Men

Career development is central to men's lives because occupation is closely welded to male identity. Specific issues discussed in this article include: sex role stereotypes and men's careers; the male equation of occupational success and high self esteem; the balancing of work, personal attachments and recreation; traditional and nontraditional careers; male-female employment combinations; developmental issues of mid-life and retirement; and high consumption (the result/motivator of occupational success?). Men will continue to need clearly conceptualized and highly skilled help with career development issues.     

Latina/o College Students' Perceptions of Career Barriers: Influence of Ethnic Identity,Acculturation, and Self‐Efficacy

Path analysis was used to explore the tenets of social cognitive career theory with a sample of 357 Latina/o college students. A modified path model revealed that career decision self‐efficacy (CDSE) mediated the influence of ethnic identity and acculturation level on the perception of career barriers. The findings point to the role of ethnic identity in augmenting Latina/o college students' CDSE and increasing awareness about career barriers. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Mediation and Moderated Mediation in the Relationship Among Role Models,Self‐Efficacy,Entrepreneurial Career Intention,and Gender

This paper addresses the effects of role models and self‐efficacy on forming career intentions, and whether the effects vary by gender and process. Focusing on entrepreneurship as a career choice, we explored (a) the effect of exposure to entrepreneurial role models on entrepreneurial career intention; (b) the difference in effects between men and women; and (c) the mediating functionality of self‐efficacy. Results indicate that role models have a significant and positive impact on intention, that gender moderated the effects, and that self‐efficacy mediated it. A moderated mediation relationship was observed such that, for women, role models had stronger influence on self‐efficacy, which, in turn, influenced entrepreneurial career intention. Results are discussed in terms of implications for theory and practice.     

Administrator Perceptions of Actual and Desired Time Spent by School Psychologists in Different Roles and Satisfaction with School Psychologists

Abstract

A total of 512 elementary and secondary administrators in Ohio were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the time spent by school psychologists in 15 role functions, the percentage of time they desired school psychologists to spend in these 15 roles, and their satisfaction with their school psychologist. Results indicated that administrators desired school psychologists to spend less time in assessment and administrative activities than they were perceived to be spending in these areas, and desired school psychologists to spend more time than they were perceived to be spending in all other roles surveyed. Six variables were found to be significant predictors of administrator satisfaction: discrepancy between actual and desired time spent administering and interpreting psychoeducational tests (negatively related), discrepancy between actual and desired time spent providing services to prevent student problems (negatively related), percentage of time spent working with parents and families (positively related), discrepancy between actual and desired time spent performing administrative duties (negatively related), discrepancy between actual and desired time spent conducting inservice activities (positively related), and discrepancy between actual and desired time spent counseling for career/vocational issues (negatively related). Results are discussed in terms of their implication for role expansion in school psychology.     

Vocational Identity as a Mediator of the Relationship between Core Self‐Evaluations and Life and Job Satisfaction

This study investigated whether vocational identity achievement mediates the relation between basic personality dispositions (i.e. core self‐evaluations) and career and well‐being outcomes in terms of job and life satisfaction. Two studies with Swiss adolescents were conducted. Study 1 (N= 310) investigated students in eighth grade, prior to making the transition to vocational education and training (VET); it showed that vocational identity related positively to life satisfaction but that this relationship disappeared once core self‐evaluations were controlled. Study 2 (N= 150) investigated students in their second year of VET; it showed that job satisfaction was unrelated to identity and self‐evaluations. However, identity fully mediated the relation between self‐evaluations and life satisfaction.     

Intergenerational occupational transmission: Do offspring walk in the footsteps of mom or dad,or both?

The purpose of this research was to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in order to investigate intergenerational occupational transmission between parents and their children. A sample of 260 undergraduate students completed a questionnaire measuring TPB variables, and congruence was calculated between the parents' occupations and their offspring's chosen profession. Intention to work in the parents' occupations was predicted by attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Congruence between parents' and their children's occupational choice was predicted by intention and perceived behavioral control. The findings provide support to the relational approach in career choice. Implications of the findings for career counselors and young people's career choices are discussed.     

Romantic partners and body image disturbance: Further evidence for the role of perceived—actual disparities

In this study, female and male college dyads (primarily Caucasian) involved in a “romantic relationship” used schematic figures to rate their conceptions of body size on a variety of rating protocols, including actual self, ideal self, ideal opposite gender, perceived partner's ideal opposite gender, perceived partner's rating of self, and rating of partner's body size. Based on the reflected-appraisal literature and previous body image research on perceived—actual disparities in body size ratings, five discrepancy indices were created and related to dispositional levels of body image disturbance, eating dysfunction, and general psychological function (self-esteem, depression). The results clearly indicated gender differences in the particular predictor associated with all measures of disturbance. For females, the discrepancy between the Self rating and the Perceived Partner's Ideal Other Gender rating accounted for almost all of the variance associated with clinical indices of disturbance. For males, the discrepancy between the Self rating and the Actual Partner's Ideal Other Gender rating was the only important predictor to emerge in regression analyses. The findings are interpreted in light of recent research on actual/perceived differences in body size ratings.     

The international student sojourn,identity conflict and threats to well-being

ABSTRACT

This article reports findings from a qualitative (interview) study of the identity conflict experienced by five international students at a university in the south of England for whom real and perceived challenges to national self-image were shown to be unsettling. The article suggests that our cultures of origin are centrally important to our private and personal sense of self and it argues that counsellor educators and counsellors need to understand their students' and clients' emotional and behavioural problems in the context of their cultural identities. In this research, there was a strong emotional response to threats to collective identity, which appeared to be influenced by both the degree of students' cultural identification and their country's global standing. The following themes were generated from a thematic analysis and capture the essence of student responses to perceived derogation of their national identity: re-identifying with the culture of origin; allying with the West; resisting the discourse of western supremacy; and acquiescence with stigma. Of importance to all participants' perceptions of derogation was their location in the western world.     

Do Self-Ideal Discrepancies and Global Self-Esteem Amount to the Same Thing?: An Empirical Investigation

Measures of self-esteem differ considerably in the assumptions they make about the nature of the construct. These differences are often overlooked in discussions of self-esteem. An examination was accordingly conducted of the relationship between measures of the distance between actual self and ideal self (derived from repertory grids) and an adapted version of Rosenberg's measure of global self-esteem. The stability over periods up to 15 months of both kinds of measure was also examined. Two samples (N = 20 and N = 28) of students and recent graduates provided data as part of a longitudinal study of career development. Results differed between samples, but in general indicated that global self-esteem overlaps with but is not the same as the discrepancy between actual self and ideal self. Scores were generally stable over time. Explanations for the results are discussed, together with their implications for how we should construe self-esteem.     

Extended analysis and treatment of self‐injurious behavior

In experiment 1, an extended functional analysis of self‐injury was conducted with a 21‐year‐old male diagnosed with autism and profound mental retardation. The multielement phase yielded undifferentiated results. Subsequent blocking of conditions plus the addition of a component allowing access to multiple sensory stimuli suggested that self‐injury was unrelated to programmed positive or negative reinforcement contingencies. The behavior appeared to be automatically reinforced; its occurrence decreased when access to alternative sensory stimuli was provided. Experiment 2 evaluated a treatment condition in which response‐independent access to these sensory stimuli was provided within the participant's everyday environment. Baseline and treatment frequencies of self‐injury were compared in a combined, multiple‐baseline‐across‐settings and ABAB design. The level of self‐injury decreased substantially during treatment. These results support the use of extended analog analyses of aberrant behavior in instances in which undifferentiated responding occurs in the initial analogue analysis. Additionally, a procedure is described for generalizing the intervention derived from the experimental analysis into the participant's everyday environment. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Towards an integrated identity in counselling psychology: Graduate,professional and academic experiences

The paper is a reflective summary of my identity as a counselling psychologist. It discusses personal life, work and training experiences. The reason I would like to publish such a work is to encourage students in Greece, where the field of Counselling Psychology is less developed, to consider this kind of specialization, as well as to continuously enhance their professional identity, assimilating both practice and research opportunities, throughout their career paths. The paper focuses on three major influences in my development and training in the field: (a) graduate experiences as a doctoral student, writing a thesis on women's professional development, (b) work experiences in a career center of a large academic institution, and (c) academic and instructional experiences in a School of Psychology, where I teach and supervise research of both undergraduate and graduate students. The above influences delineate three separate, yet integrating identities: the identity of a feminist, the identity of a practitioner, and the identity of a researcher and instructor in the academia–that is, the identity of a scientist. My intention is to show how these three identities have been well integrated all these years, improving continuously my level of work in each and every dimension.     

Adolescent peer crowd self‐identification,attributional style and perceptions of parenting

This paper examines the relationships between self‐identified crowd membership, attributional characteristics, and perceptions of parental style among students in their first year of high school (N = 893). The aim was to assess the extent to which group identity is reflected in self‐reported characteristics. Most students self‐identified either as studious, athletes, populars, rebels, or normals (N = 669) and also completed measures of perceptions of parental styles and attributional style. Consistent differences were observed between self‐identified studious and rebel teenagers. One‐way ANOVAS revealed significant group differences on mother's authoritativeness, father's authoritativeness, positive attributional style, and negative attributional style. These results are discussed with reference to the interplay between group influences and individual characteristics. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Testing an extended theory of planned behavior to predict young people's intentions to join a bone marrow donor registry

An extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used to understand the factors, particularly control perceptions and affective reactions, given conflicting findings in previous research, informing younger people's intentions to join a bone marrow registry. Participants (N = 174) completed attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), moral norm, anticipated regret, self‐identity, and intention items for registering. The extended TPB (except PBC) explained 67.2% of variance in intention. Further testing is needed as to the volitional nature of registering. Moral norm, anticipated regret, and self‐identity are likely intervention targets for increasing younger people's bone marrow registry participation.     

Hispanics' Self‐Esteem,Acculturation, and Skepticism of Women's Work1

This study investigated the relationships among Hispanics' self‐esteem, acculturation, and skepticism of women's employment. Using a sample of Hispanic students, mediated regression analysis was initiated to determine whether acculturation mediated a proposed negative relationship between self‐esteem and traditional gender attitudes. The results indicated that self‐esteem and acculturation were positively related; self‐esteem and employment skepticism were negatively related; and self‐esteem was unrelated to employment skepticism in the presence of acculturation, which supported full mediation. Organizations should consider using a combination of diversity training, employee assistance programs, career counseling, and job‐enrichment policies to facilitate Hispanics' self‐esteem and acculturation, and these efforts might lead ultimately to greater acceptance of women's employment.