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Relationships between contextual support, perceived educational barriers, and vocational/educational self-efficacy and outcome expectations were examined for a group of 114 ninth graders from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Results of this exploratory pilot study indicated that sibling and peer support accounted for a significant amount of variance in vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs. Vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs also significantly predicted vocational outcome expectations, and contextual supports and barriers did not account for any unique variance associated with vocational outcome expectations. Results are discussed in relation to social cognitive career theory. Implications for counseling and future research are presented.

Despite increasing attention to the problem of domestic violence and its multifaceted consequences, the career development needs of battered women have only sporadically been addressed in the vocational psychology literature. In this article, the scope and consequences of domestic violence are reviewed, highlighting effects on women's career and educational wellbeing. Social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) is described and applied to the experiences of women living in domestic violence situations. A framework for empowering battered women and using SCCT to promote their career development and attainment is provided, along with recommendations for future research.

The number of women immigrating to the United States is growing because of current global changes (A. J. Marsella & E. Ring, 2003). Understanding and serving the mental health needs of this population is a new challenge for American counselors and counseling scholars. In this article, an ecological model (U. Bronfenbrenner, 1979) is used to describe the mental health needs of immigrant women, outline various counseling strategies and interventions, and systematically explore the sociocultural variables influencing immigrant women's experiences in the U.S.