Influence of career indecision on treatments exploring the vocational interests of college women.

Abstract

This study randomly assigned undergraduate women at each of three levels of career indecision to a Vocational Card Sort treatment group, a Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory treatment group, or a no-treatment control group. A total of 180 women (20 per cell) voluntarily participated. Career indecision was measured by the Occupational Alternatives Question. A variety of outcome measures were used including items measuring the vocational needs of subjects, the Vocational Exploration Behavior Checklist, the Satisfaction Opinionnaire, and the Satisfaction With Career Scale. The percentage of women who were employed in the expressed vocational choices chosen by the subjects was examined, and two methods of analyzing changes in the expressed choice^ were used. Finally, a method of determining the direction of changes was explored. Overall the results indicated that there were' some modest treatment effects. There was clearer support for the importance of career indecision in relation to the impact of the vocational interventions. These results are discussed and their implications for vocational counseling and future research are examined.

Holland's Theory and Effective Use of Computer-Assisted Career Guidance Systems

“…The OAQ is scored as follows : 1 = a first choice is listed with no alternatives, 2 = a first choice is listed with alternatives, 3 = no first choice is listed, just alternatives, and 4 = neither is listed. Using this scoring procedure, the concurrent validity of the OAQ with other measures of career indecision has been demonstrated in several studies (Slaney, 1980(Slaney, , 1983Slaney, Stafford, & Russell, 1981). Test-retest reliability was reported at .93 (Redmond, 1973) and found to be stable over a six week period (Slaney, 1978).…”

The Effects of Marital Status and Motherhood on the Career Concerns of Reentry Women

“…The test-retest reliability correlation of a questionnaire that included this question was .93 (Redmond, 1973). Three studies (Slaney, 1980(Slaney, , 1983Slaney et al, 1981) demonstrated considerable support for the concurrent validity of the OAQ with other measures of career indecision when the responses were scored as follows: 1 = a first choice is listed with no alternatives, 2 = a first choice is listed with alternatives, 3 = no first choice is listed, just alternatives, and 4 = neither is listed. This scoring system was used in the present study.…”

A Review of the Correlates and Measurements of Career Indecision

“…A few measures, fortunately, appear to be quite good. The VDMD scale (Holland & Holland, 1977) and the use of the OAQ (Slaney, 1980(Slaney, , 1983 also appear to be quite beneficial to career indecision research. The VDMD scale (Holland & Holland, 1977) and the use of the OAQ (Slaney, 1980(Slaney, , 1983 also appear to be quite beneficial to career indecision research.…”