At-Risk Urban High School Students' Commitment toCareer Choices

Nicholas Ladany, Deborah S. Melincoff, Madonna G. Constantine, and Rosaria Love

The purpose of this study was to examine the commitment to career choices process for at-risk urban high school students. Data

from 189 at-risk urban high school students were sampled. Results indicated that students' level of commitment to their career

choices was related to their vocational identity, their need for occupational information, their perceived barriers to occupational

goals, and the number of occupations they considered. The tendency to foreclose was related to the adherence to career myths.

Implications and limitations for career theory, research, and practice are addressed.

One ofthe major developmental tasks of lateadolescence and early adulthood is thecommitment to career choices process[Blustein, Ellis, & Devenis, 1989; Erikson,1968; Harren, 1979; Jepsen, 1984; Sharf,

1992; Super, 1957, 1984, 1990]. This process, which en-tails the development and specification of vocationaloptions, generally culminates in a strong attachment orcommitment to career choices [Gottfredson, 1981; Harren,1979; Jordaan & Heyde, 1979; Super, 1957, 1984, 1990;Tiedeman & O'Hara, 1963]. During this process, anindividual must be able to tolerate the ambiguity, confu-sion, and anxiety of exploring a variety of potential careers(Fuqua & Hartman, 1983; Jordaan, 1974; Jordaan & Heyde,1979]. Although a number of investigators have begun toexamine the salience of the commitment to career choicesprocess for college students (Betz & Serling, 1993; Blusteinet al, 1989; Stead & Watson, 1992], there has been a lackof systematic research exploring the correlates to the com-mitment to career choices process for at-risk urban highschool students. Relevant to at-risk urban high school stu-dents are the limited resources available to these adoles-cents (e.g., lower school funding], the stressorsassociated with being at risk [e. g., lower socioeconomic sta-tus; McWhirter, McWhirter, McWhirter, & McWhirter,1995], and the lack of working role models (Loughead, Liu,& Middleton, 1995]. Thus, successful navigation through

the developmental tasks toward a stable commitment tocareer choices becomes formidable. Although past studieshave attempted to create career programs and interventionsfor this population (Lingg, 1995; Loughead etal., 1995], itseems critical to understand more clearly the career choicesprocess for at-risk adolescents.

Blustein et al. (1989] defined the commitment to careerchoices process as consisting of two independent constructsor variables. The first construct, vocational exploration andcommitment, refers to individuals' openness to exploringvarious career options before committing to specific careerchoices. Vocational exploration and commitment has beenfound to be associated with college students' ego identityachievement, occupational certainty, and aspects of careerdecision making [Blustein et al., 1989; Blustein, Pauling,DeMania, & Faye, 1994]. The second construct, tendencyto foreclose, refers to individuals' tendency to prematurelycommit to career choices without a "thorough period ofexploration and provisional commitment" with regard topotential career choices (Blustein et al., 1989, p. 346]. Forexample, adolescents who believe strongly that only oneoccupation is meant for them would indicate a strong ten-dency to foreclose. Tendency to foreclose has been foundto be associated with college students' vocational choicecrystallization [Blustein et al., 1989]. Both ofthese con-structs have been shown to be related to college students'levels of career indecision, fear of commitment, self-esteem.

Nicholas Ladany is an assistant professor, and Deborah S. Melincoffis a graduate student, both in the Department of Education and Human Services atLehigh University. Madonna G. Conslantine is an assistant professor, and Rosaria Love is a graduate student, both in the Department of PsychologicalStudies in Education at Temple University. A preliminary version of this article was presented at the ]03rd Annual ConvenHon of the American PsychobgicalAssociation, New York in 1995. We express our appreciation to Eslher Auerbach, Anuradha Baddipuddi-Kuchibhotia, Reginald Banks, Michele Bosio, LanceBrvwn, Chanda Corbett, Michele Forstot, David Hahn. Jenny Hudson. Gopa Khan, Paul Kurland, Deborah Lippay, Stan Levy, Rebecca Mahon, MichelleMautner, Elisaida Mendez, Michael Remshard, Melyce Schreiner. Stacey Spencer, Andrea Stoddart. Donna Wilson, and Bradley Wolgast for their datacollection, coding, and entry assistance. Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to Nicholas Ladany. Counseling Psychology, Department ofEducation and Human Sermces. Ill Research Drive. Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015 (e mail: nil3@lehigh.edu).

JOURNAL OF COUNSELING £ DEVELOPMENT • WINTER 1997 * VOLUAAE 76 45

L a d a n y , M e l i n c o f f , C o n s t a n t i n e , a n d L o v e

trait anxiety, and ability to remain functional under stress[Betz & Serling, 1993).

Although previous investigations have provided evidencefor the usefulness of the constructs underlying the com-mitment to career choices process for college students, un-derstanding how these constructs relate to at-risk urban highschool students is limited. Blustein et al. (1989) suggestedthat this is a critical next step for research in this area. Ur-ban high school students, who are considered at risk, dealwith a variety of issues unique to their situation that arearguably quite different from those of a general college stu-dent population. Thus, a primary purpose of the presentinvestigation was to extend the understanding of the com-mitment to career choices process by examining this pro-cess and other salient career variables in at-risk urban highschool students.

The commitment to career choices process reflects one'scertainty about career choices and implies self-confidenceand a stable sense of vocational future (Blustein et al., 1989].These notions of certainty, self-confidence, and a stable senseof vocational future also appear to be directly related tothe construct of vocational identity. Holland, Daiger, andPower (1980] defined vocational identity as the stability ofone's career personahty, goals, interests, and talents. It seemsreasonable to suspect that a greater degree of certainty aboutone's career choices would likely be related to a more stablesense of vocational self or identity. Thus, in the present study,we predicted that at-risk urban high school students whowere less open to vocational exploration and uncommittedto career choices would have a less stable vocational iden-tity. Furthermore, we predicted that students who weremore likely to foreclose prematurely on an occupationalchoice also would have a less stable vocational identity.

In the context of at-risk urban high school settings, stu-dents are often forced to make vocational decisions regard-ing their intent to go to college or to identify options foremployment, while simultaneously contending with pov-erty, unstable family structures, and inhospitable schoolenvironments (McWhirter et al, 1995]. Indeed, these ad-ditional obstacles or barriers would seem to be related tothe students' levels of vocational exploration and commit-ment and their tendency to foreclose. For example, adoles-cents who come from impoverished families may have re-alistic concerns about their ability to pay for a postsecondaryeducation. Furthermore, day-to-day survival and meetingprimary physical and emotional needs may be of greaterconcern than seeking out information about careers(Loughead et al., 1995]. Even if such students are inter-ested in examining career opportunities, it may be that theirschool environment lacks adequate resources for this ex-ploration to occur. Subsequently, they may not have oppor-tunities to fully consider long-term career goals. In theirsocial cognitive career model. Lent, Brown, and Hackett(1996] suggested that external barriers may influence indi-viduals' perceptions of their self-efficacy with regard tomaking career choices. As such, in the present study, weanticipated that students who were less open to vocational

exploration and commitment and who tended to prema-turely foreclose on career choices would (a] tend to per-ceive more obstacles to achieving their desired career ob-jectives, and (b) be in need of more vocational information.

In addition to the need for vocational information, it ispossible that some vocational information may bemisperceived by some adolescents. In particular, it has beendocumented that high school students have the propensityfor believing in career myths (i.e., incorrect beliefs andattitudes pertaining to the career choice process; Dorn &Welch, 1985; Lewis & Gilhousen, 1981; Petitpas, 1978;Rosenberg, 1977;Thompson, 1976]. Ostensibly, the adher-ence to career myths could inhibit or negatively influencethe commitment to career choices process. For example, ifindividuals believe that "time will tell what is the best ca-reer for me," they may be less likely to commit to, or becertain about, their career choices. Furthermore, if adoles-cents beheve that men and women should only enter "tra-ditional careers," they may be more likely to prematurelylimit their career choices (Betz, 1994). Thus, in the presentstudy, we predicted that students who were less open tothe vocational exploration and commitment process andwho were more likely to prematurely foreclose on careerchoices would be more likely to adhere to career myths.

Besides the existence of career myths, the commitmentto career choices process seems to be related to the num-ber of occupations an individual considers. In particular, itis likely that a less open stance for exploration and com-mitment and a more maladaptive foreclosure of career op-tions may be related to a circumscription, or restriction, ofpotential occupations, especially for those who are at risk(Gottfredson, 1981]. In fact, there is evidence to suggestthat college students who were more committed to careerchoices, and who had a tendency to prematurely foreclose,were likely to have considered a lower number of occupa-tions (Blustein et al, 1989). However, this phenomenon inat-risk urban high school students is unknown. In the presentstudy, we predicted that students who were less commit-ted to their career choices (i.e., vocational exploration andcommitment] would consider a greater number of occupa-tions than those who were more committed to examiningtheir career options. Alternatively, we anticipated that at-risk urban high school students who prematurely foreclosedon their career options would consider a lower number ofoccupations than those who were more open to examiningtheir career options.

In summary, the overall purpose of this study was to ex-amine the extent to which the commitment to careerchoices process (as defined by the constructs of vocationalexploration and commitment and the tendency to foreclose]predicts career-related variables for at-risk urban high schoolstudents. Specifically, we hypothesized that students whowere less open to the vocational exploration and commit-ment process and who had a greater tendency to foreclosewould (a) have a less stable vocational identity, (b) per-ceive more obstacles impeding their career objectives, (c]perceive the need for more vocational information, (d] be

46 lOURNAL OF COUNSELING £ DEVELOPMENT • WINTER 1997 • VOLUME 76

A t - R i s k U r b a n H i g h S c h o o l S t u d e n t s

more likely to adhere to career myths, and (e] consider alower number of career options.

METHOD

Participants

Participants in this study were 189 students from an urbanhigh school in the northeast region of the United States.These students were identified as at risk because of theirpredominantly lower socioeconomic status and the limitedresources of the school they attend. One-hundred and two(54%] of the participants were female and 85 (45%] weremale; 2 participants did not specify their gender. The meanage ofthe sample was 16.04 years {SD = 1.17, range = 14-19]. Eighty-eight (44%] ofthe participants identified them-selves as African American, 64 (36%) as White, 16 (9%) asAsian American, 8 (4%) as Latino or Latina, and 17 (9%)did not specify their race or ethnicity. The grade levels wereas follows: 57 (30%] in 9th, 36 (19%] in 10th, 63 (33%) in11 th, 30 (16%] in 12th grade, and 3 participants (2%) didnot indicate their grade level.

Variables

Vocational exploration and commitment and tendency to fore-close. The Commitment to Career Choices Scale (CCCS;Blustein et al, 1989) is a 28-item self-report instrumentused to measure the commitment to career choices pro-cess. The CCCS consists of two subscales that are relevantto the career choices process: Vocational Exploration andCommitment (VEC] andTendency to Foreclose (TTF).TheVEC subscale contains 19 items that assess individuals'progress from a highly clarified and committed phase to anuncommitted exploratory phase (e.g., "I have a good dealof information about the occupational fields that are mostinteresting to me").TheTTF subscale contains 9 items thatassess the extent to which individuals hmit career choices(e.g., "I believe that only one single occupation is right forme"), Ratings are based on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 =never true about me to 7 = always true about me. Blustein etal. found the internal consistency for the subscales to ex-ceed ,91 for the VEC and .78 for the TTF; they also re-ported both 2-week and 4-week test-retest reliabilitycoefficients that exceeded .82 for these subscales. Validityindexes for the CCCS have been demonstrated across a num-ber of studies (e.g., Betz & Serling, 1993; Blustein et al.,1989; Blustein et al., 1994; Stead & Watson, 1992). Withthis sample, the Cronbach's alpha coefBcients were . 86(VEC) and. 71 (TTF).

Vocational identity, need for occupational information, andbarriers to occupational goals. Vocational identity, need foroccupational information, and perceived barriers to occu-pational goals were assessed by the three subscales of theMy Vocational Situation (MVS; Holland et al, 1980], a 26-item self-report measure. The first subscale, Vocational Iden-tity (VI), contains 18 items and assesses the extent to whichone possesses a clear and stable picture of one's goals, inter-

ests, personality, and talents (e.g., "I am confused about thewhole problem of deciding on a career"]. The OccupationalInformation (OI) subscale contains 4 items that measurethe extent to which an individual needs vocational infor-mation [e.g.,"I need the following information: What kindsof people enter different occupations?"]. The Barriers toOccupational Goals (BOG] subscale measures the extentto which one perceives external barriers to attaining one'soccupational goals (e.g., "I don't have the money to followthe career I want most"]. Items for the VI subscale are ratedas true or false, and items for the O! and BOG subscales arerated as yes or no. For scoring purposes, items rated true orfalse are scored as 1 or 0, respectively. Items rated as yes orno are scored as 1 or 0, respectively. Higher scores on thesesubscales indicate a less stable vocational identity (VI],greater need for occupational information (OI), or moreperceived barriers to occupational goals (BOG). The MVShas demonstrated construct validity across a variety of popu-lations, including high school students; the internal consis-tency for the subscales were found to be .86 for VI, .39 forOI, and .23 for BOG (Holland et al, 1980). For this inves-tigation, the Cronbach's alpha coefficients were .83 for VI,.48 for OI, and .57 for BOG.

Number of occupations considered. The VocationalPreference Inventory (VPI; Holland, 1985] is a self-report instrument that was adapted for this study tomeasure the frequency of occupations considered. TheVPI lists 160 occupations about which students indi-cate their interest, dislike, or indecision. The occupationsare distributed across Holland's model of vocational inter-est clusters (i.e., realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enter-prising, and conventional]. For the purposes of this study,the total number of occupations in which participantsindicated interest or indecision was used to assess the fre-quency of occupations being considered. With the presentsample, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was .98. In termsof validity, the VFI has been shown to have construct andcriterion-related validity (Holland, 1985].

Career myths. The Survey of Career Attitudes (SCA;Woodrick, 1979] is a 50-item self-report instrument usedto assess adherence to various career myths. Sample itemsinclude "Once I have chosen a vocation, I probably shouldnot change" and "The earlier in life that I make a careerdecision, the better it will be for me." Respondents indicatewhether they agree or disagree with each of the items. Thescale addresses the following 13 categories of career mythsderived from the career literature: (a) Career decisions can-not be changed once they have been made, (b) certain ca-reers are best for only one gender, (c) college is the bestroute to a career, (d) experts know what careers are bestfor people, (e) there is a perfect job for each person,(f) time will tell what is the best career, (g) the harder aperson tries, the quicker he or she can make a career deci-sion, (h] work is the most important thing in a person's life,(i) career planning is an exact science, (j] a person can suc-ceed at anything he or she wants, (k] happiness is contin-gent on career success, (1] a person's worth is measured by

lOURNAL OF COUNSELING £ DEVELOPMENT * WINTER 1997 * VOLUME 76 47

L a d a n y , M e l i n c o f f , C o n s t a n t i n e , a n d L o v e

the career he or she has selected, and [m] interests andaptitudes are synonymous [Dorn, 1987; Dom & Welch,1985]. The overall sum score of the instrument was usedfor this investigation. Construct and criterion-related va-lidity for the use of the SCA in high school students havebeen demonstrated (Dorn, 1987; Dom & Welch, 1985;Woodrick, 1979]. Furthermore, career myths have beenfound to parallel Ellis's (1962] concept of irrational beliefs(Dorn & Welch, 1985] and to be unrelated to a measure ofsocial desirability. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for thepresent sample of high school students was .69.

Demographic variables. A demographic questionnaire wasadministered to gather information about participants' gen-der, race or ethnicity, age, grade level, and intention to at-tend college immediately after graduating from high school.

Procedure

Volunteer participants were sampled from an urban highschool in the northeast region ofthe United States. Ques-tionnaire packets were distributed to 9th, 10th, 11th, and12th graders as part of their participation in a series of class-room exercises designed to enhance their vocational devel-opment. Only the pretest data were used in this investiga-tion. Informed consent was obtained; thus, participants couldwithdraw from completing the paper-and-pencil measuresat any time. To ensure anonymity, we collected no identify-ing information. Ofthe 223 questionnaire packets distrib-uted to potential participants, 189 were returned completedand usable (85% response rate].

Design

The design for this investigation included two predictorvariables and five criterion variables. The predictor variableswere the participants' scores on theVEC andTTF subscalesofthe CCCS.Thecriterion variables were (a] participants'scores on each of the MVS subscales (i.e., VI, need for OI,and BOG]; [b] the number of occupations being consid-ered by the students (as assessed by the VPI]; and (3] par-ticipants' adherence to career myths (as measured by theSCA].

RESULTS

To examine the relationships between the predictor (VECand TTF] and criterion (VI, OI, BOG, VPI, and SCA] vari-ables, we performed a series of multivariate (Hypotheses 1,2, and 3] and univariate (Hypotheses 4 and 5] multiple re-gression analyses. These analytic procedures were used tocontrol for experimentwise error and the intercorrelationsamong the criterion variables (Lunneborg & Abbott, 1983;Stevens, 1986]. The criterion variables that were conceptu-ally related [i.e., the MVS subscales] were grouped togethersuch that three separate overall analyses were performed.We conducted follow-up analyses to examine specificrelationships between each predictor variable and each cri-terion variable. It should be noted that in cases in which

statistical significance was reached, the effect size came closeto or exceeded what has been found to be a median effectsize in the counseling literature (i.e., i ^ = .07; Haase, Ellis,& Ladany, 1989]. The effect sizes for both the multivariateand univariate results indicate the proportion of variancein the criterion variables accounted for by the predictorvariables (Cohen, 1988; Haase, 1974; Haase et al., 1989].Descriptive statistics for the predictor and criterion vari-ables are shown in Table 1.

Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3: Commitment to career choices (VECand TTF] and VI, OI, and BOG. A multivariate multipleregression analysis indicated that the overall proportion ofthe variance in the students' ratings of vocational identity,need for occupational information, and perceived barriersto occupational goals accounted for by the VEC and TTFscores was significant (Pillai's trace = .42], f(6,252] = 11.24,p < .001, n^^ = -21, where T\'^^ is the multivariate effectsize. Because multivariate significance was reached at the.05 level, follow-up univariate analyses were conducted(Haase & Ellis, 1987]. Results ofthe multivariate andunivariate analyses are presented in Table 2.

Examination ofthe follow-up univariate f tests from thefull model suggested that the VEC and TTF scores signifi-cantly predicted students' ratings of vocational identity, needfor occupational information, and perceived barriers to oc-cupational goals. To determine which ofthe predictor vari-ables contributed uniquely to the variance of each of thecriterion variables, we conducted follow-up multivariate andthen univariate f tests for each predictor variable (i.e., VECandTTF]. In these reduced model analyses, we tested eachpredictor variable holding the other one constant.

In Reduced Model 1 (seeTable 2), the multivariate mul-tiple regression analysis examining the VEC and the com-

TABLE 1

Descriptive Statistics for the Predictorand Criterion Variables

Variable

Predictor variablesVocational Expioration and CommitmentTendency to Foreclose

Criterion variablesVocational IdentityOccupational InformationBarriers to Occupational GoalsNumber of Occupations ConsideredCareer Myths

M

63.9034.64

8.262.801.21

38.5022.81

SD

20.219.76

4.491.081,17

32.705.63

Note. Vocational Exploration and Commitment and Tendency to Fore-close refer to the two subscales of the Commitment to Career ChoicesScale (Blustein et al., 1989); Vocational Identity, Occupational Informa-tion, and Barriers to Occupational Goals refer to the three scales of theMy Vocational Situation Inventory (Holland et al.. 1980); Number ofOccupations Considered refers to the frequency of careers endorsedon the Vocational Preference Inventory (Holland, 1985); and CareerMyths refers to the total score on the Survey of Career Attitudes(Woodrick. 1979).

48 lOURNAL OF COUNSELING C DEVELOPMENT • WINTER 1997 • VOLUME 76

A t - R i s k U r b a n H i g h S c h o o l S t u d e n t s

TABLE 2

Results of the Multivariate MultipleRegression Analyses

Model/Variables

Full modelPredictor variables

VEC and TTFCriterion variables

Vocational IdentityOccupationai InformationBarriers to Occupational

Goals

Reduced Model 1Predictor variable

Vocational Exploration andCommitment

Criterion variablesVocational IdentityOccupational InformationBarriers to Occupational

Goals

Reduced Model 2Predictor variable

Tendency to ForecloseCriterion variables

Vocational IdentityOccupational InformationBarriers to Occupationai

Goals

Pillai'sTrace F

,42 11,24

36.485,64

8,20

.39 26.14

72,929,59

13,11

,04 1,55

6,

2.2,

2,

3,

11

1

3

df

252

127127

127

, 125

, 127, 127

, 127

, 125

P

.0001

,0001.0050

.0001

.0001

.0001

.0020

,0001

>.O5

.21

,37.08

,11

.39

.36

.07

.09

.04

Note. VEC = Vocational Exploration and Commitment; TTF =Tendency to Foreclose,

bination of all the criterion variables was found to be sig-nificant. Follow-up univariate analyses indicated that VECscores contributed uniquely and significantly to the pro-portion of variance accounted for in vocational identityscores. Specifically, VEC scores indicating less commitmentwere related to less stable ratings of vocational identity. Simi-larly, theVEC scores contributed uniquely and significantlyto the proportion of variance accounted for in the need foroccupational information ratings. In other words, VEC scoresindicating less commitment were related to students' greaterneed for occupational information. Finally, the VEC scorescontributed uniquely and significantly to the proportion ofvariance accounted for in perceived occupational barriers.More specifically, VEC scores indicating less commitmentwere related to more perceived occupational barriers.

In Reduced Model 2, the multivariate multiple regressionanalysis indicated that the TTF scores were not significantlyrelated to the combination ofthe variables vocational identity,need for occupational information, and perceived occupationalbarriers. Because significance was not reached at the multi-variate level, no univariate analyses were examined.

Hypothesis 4: Commitment to career choices (VEC andTTF)and career myths. We used a multiple regression analysis totest if both the VEC and TTF explained a unique propor-tion of the variance in perceptions of career myths. A sig-nificant overall multiple R~ of . 11 was found for the fullmodel, f(2, 96] - 6.06,p< .01, r|' = . 11. Follow-up analy-ses demonstrated that the TTF significantly accounted fora unique amount of the variance in career myths, ((97) =3.25, p < .01, b = .32, Ti = .10. Specifically, students whowere more likely to prematurely foreclose on career op-tions also adhered to a greater number of career myths. Nosignificant relationship was found between the VEC andcareer myths, t(97) =-1.65,p> ,05,b = -.16,Ti^ = .03.

Hypothesis 5: Commitment to career choices (VEC andTTF)and occupational interests. The final objective of this studywas to determine if ratings on the VEC and TTF were re-lated to number of occupations considered. We used amultiple regression analysis to test if both the VEC andTTF explained a unique proportion ofthe variance in thenumber of occupations considered. A significant overallmultiple R^ of .05 was found for the full model, F[2,133) =3,56, p < .05, ri = ,05, Follow-up analyses demonstratedthat VEC scores significantly accounted for a unique amountof variance in the number of occupations considered, t(134)= 2.65, p < ,01, b = .22, \f = .07. In other words, studentswho were less committed to occupational choices consid-ered a greater number of occupations. No significant rela-tionship was found between tendency to foreclose andnumber of occupations considered, t(l 34) = -.38, p > .05,

Additional Analyses

The inability to control for potential third-variable confoundsis an inherent limitation in field research [Cook & Campbell,1979; Heppner, Kivlighan, & Wampold, 1992), In an attemptto explore if the demographic variables (potential third-vari-able confounds) might influence the predictor (VEC andTTF) and criterion [VI, OI, BOG, VPI, and SCA) variables,we conducted a series of bivariate correlations (for the con-tinuously distributed variables) and analyses of variance (forthe categorical variables) .To control for Type I error and yetretain a reasonable estimate of potential moderating vari-ables, we used a .01 per-comparison alpha rate. Results indi-cated that students who had lower intentions of attendingcollege were significantly more likely to be uncommitted totheir career choices, r[169) = -.27, p < .01, and perceivebarriers to attaining their occupational goals, r(144) = -.23,p < ,01. Gender, race/ethnicity, age, and grade level of par-ticipant did not differ significantly on any ofthe predictoror criterion variables.

DISCUSSION

Overall, the results supported many of the hypotheses.Consistent with the hypotheses, the results indicated thatat-risk urban high school students' level of vocational ex-

lOURNAL OF COUNSELING £ DEVELOPMENT • WINTER 1997 • VOLUAAE 76 49

Ladany , M e l i n c o f f , C o n s t a n t i n e , and Love

ploration and commitment to career choices was related totheir vocational identity, need for occupational informa-tion, perceived barriers to occupational goals, and the num-ber of occupations they considered. Furthermore, tendencyto foreclose was significantly related to career myths, Con-trary to the a priori hypotheses, vocational exploration andcommitment was not found to be significantly related tocareer myths. Also, tendency to foreclose was not found tobe significantly related to vocational identity, need for oc-cupational information, perceived obstacles, or number ofoccupations considered. Thus, it appears that, in combina-tion, the vocational exploration and commitment and thetendency to foreclose constructs contributed to the under-standing of the primary dependent variables of this study.

In terms of the hypotheses related to vocational explora-tion and commitment, the results showed that students whowere less open to the vocational exploration and commit-ment process were less stable in terms of their vocationalidentity, reported a greater need for occupational informa-tion, and perceived more barriers to their career goals. Thus,at-risk students who tended to be uncommitted to theircareer choices also tended to have difficulties in other vo-cational areas. The interplay among commitment, identity,and need for information may reflect the inherent conflictthat many adolescents experience, including those who areat risk. Perhaps it is developmentally appropriate for ado-lescents to be unclear about and uncommitted to their ca-reer choices and vocational identity, in addition to needingmore occupational information. However, the ability to acton these needs may be uniquely compromised in some at-risk environments because of perceived and realistic barri-ers, such as limited financial resources and insufficient aca-demic support (Munson, 1992). These issues should betaken into consideration in the development of effectivecareer counseling interventions. For example, counselors ofhigh school students may wish to develop and implementprograms and curricula that encourage students to explorea wide range of realistic career possibilities [i.e., increasestudents' level of vocational exploration and commitment).These interventions will in turn influence and facilitate thecrystallization of students' interests, skills, values, and apti-tudes and provide the needed vocational information. Theunique challenge to counselors of students who are at riskis to engage them in these interventions while concomi-tantly attending to overcoming students' perceived barri-ers (Swanson, Daniels, &Tokar, 1996). For the counselor, itmay be difficult to determine if an at-risk student's lowlevel of commitment is developmentally appropriate orproblematic. Longitudinal research is needed to determineif these at-risk adolescents are indeed progressing in a typi-cal developmental fashion or if their uncommitted posturereflects a developmental crisis point for them. Nonethe-less, counselors need to be adept at differentiating develop-mentally appropriate from developmentally maladaptiveprocesses and then providing relevant interventions.

Vocational exploration and commitment was also foundto be related to the number of occupations students con-

sidered, with lower commitment to career choices beingrelated to a greater number of occupations considered. Thisfinding suggests that individuals who are uncommitted tospecific career choices may maximize their options by con-sidering many career alternatives. This phenomenon is notsurprising given that uncommitted exploration is a normal,temporary developmental stage (Rojewski, 1994), particu-larly for early adolescents [Sharf, 1992; Super, 1957, 1984,1990). Conversely students who had a clearer and morecommitted career posture tended to consider fewer num-ber of occupations. Perhaps at-risk students limit the num-ber of occupations they consider not because of commit-ment to a career but because of perceived and real-life bar-riers. This posture may be problematic if reaching clarity ofchoices is based on limited occupational information. It maybe the case that students could make more congruent ca-reer choices if they were encouraged to be more open abouttheir career options, which in turn would result in consid-eration of a greater number of occupations. Thus, counse-lors should explore with at-risk students the reasons forconsidering a hmited number of career options [e.g., lackof information about nontraditional careers) and then in-tervene accordingly. Furthermore, high school counselorscould encourage students to be open to engage in workexperiences and participate in college-bound or other vo-cational programs that may increase their potential careeroptions [Lingg, 1995; Loughead et al., 1995).

Regarding the tendency to foreclose and career mythshypothesis, the results illustrated that students' tendency toforeclose prematurely on career options was significantlypositively related to their adherence to a greater number ofcareer myths. This finding indicates that students who havea tendency to foreclose prematurely may possess manymaladaptive beliefs about the career choices process. Thisresult has particular implications for counselors who workwith at-risk urban high school students. Specifically, coun-selors may want to assess the extent to which these students'beliefs may inhibit them from exploring career opportuni-ties. They also may want to identify career interventions thatwill focus on the factors underlying their tendency to fore-close (e.g., dualistic or simplistic thinking;Tetlock & Suedfeld,1988) as well as altering these students' potentially mis-guided beliefs [Krumboltz & Nichols, 1990). Examining theimpact of home, family, and school influences may providethese counselors with valuable information about the per-ceptions, experiences, beliefs, and expectations of at-riskurban high school students. In addition, counselors need tobe aware of the myths to which at-risk urban high schoolstudents are susceptible and should intervene proactivelyto prevent these myths from being internalized. In particu-lar, it is important that career counselors assist these stu-dents in exploring their maladaptive beliefs in a develop-mentally and culturally sensitive fashion (Pinkney &Ramirez, 1985).

In an attempt to explore if other variables might haveconfounded the results of this study, we examined the rela-tionship between some characteristics of the sample [e.g.,

50 JOURNAL OF COUNSELING fi DEVELOPMENT • WINTER 1997 • VOLUME 76

A t - R i s k U r b a n H i g h S c h o o l S t u d e n t s

age and gender) and the predictor and criterion variables.Only one variable, intention to go to college, was found tobe related to the variables under study. Specifically, at-riskurban high school students who had fewer intentions ofattending college were likely to be less committed to theircareer choices and perceived more barriers to attaining theiroccupational goals. One explanation for this finding is thatthe perception of real or imagined barriers may contributeto an uncommitted posture while simultaneously decreas-ing the students' intention to attend college. For example,students who may not have the financial means to attendcollege may not consider college as a realistic or feasibleoption. Thus, these individuals may not be motivated tocommit to preferred career choices. Future researchers maywish to consider the importance of intention to go to col-lege as a factor related to the career choices process for at-risk urban adolescents.

Overall, the results of this study seem to extend the ap-plicability ofthe commitment to career choices constructsto at-risk urban high school students. However, the study'sfindings must be tempered in light of several limitations ofthe design. First, causal connections between the primaryvariables cannot legitimately be made. For example, it isunclear if actual barriers to occupational goals may leadone to being uncommitted to career choices or if an un-committed posture may lead one to perceive occupationalbarriers. Second, the influence of other potential variablesneeds to be explored. Specifically, it is possible that mentalhealth or developmental issues may interact in some fash-ion with adolescents' career choices process. For example,if psychological or mental health needs (e.g., depressionbased on stressful environmental circumstances) are notaddressed, career exploration may not be particularly im-portant to such students. Third, some of the scales used inthis study have not been used extensively in urban highschool settings. Although this study provides some prelimi-nary reliability and validity data regarding the use ofthesescales with at-risk urban high school students, future re-searchers may wish to continue assessing the applicabilityof the vocational constructs examined with this popula-tion. Furthermore, the internal consistencies ofthe OI andBOG subscales ofthe MVS were lower than desired. Assuch, the certainty that these scales measure the desiredconstructs in at-risk urban high school students is limited,and more information is needed pertaining to their useful-ness with this population (Healy, Tullier, & Mourton, 1990).Finally, the career variables under study were examinedsolely from the students' perspectives. Perceptions from sig-nificant individuals in the students' lives such as teachersand family members may also provide valuable insights intothe students' commitment to career choices process.

in conclusion, the constructs related to the commitmentto career choices process seems to extend from the collegepopulation to at-risk urban high school students, albeit in acomplicated fashion. This study found evidence to suggestthat understanding students' vocational exploration andcommitment and the tendency to foreclose may be useful

for counselors who work with students on career-relatedissues. Finally, it is important for researchers to continue toexamine the relevance of problematic versus typical develop-mental issues in the context of understanding the commit-ment to career choices process across various populations.

REFERENCES

Betz, N. E. [1994). Basic issues and concepts in career counseling forwomen. In W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.), Career counseling forwomen [pp. 1-41]. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Betz, N. E., & Serling, D. A. [1993). Construct validity of fear of com-mitment as an indicator of career indecisiveness. Journal of CareerAssessment, I, 21-34.

Blustein, D. L., Ellis, M. V., & Devenis. L. E. [1989). The developmentand validation of a two dimensional model of the commitment tocareer choice process. Journal of Vocational Bchainor, 35, 342-378.

Blustein, D. L., Pauling, M. L , DeMania, M. E., & Faye, M. [1994). Rela-tion between exploratory and choice factors and decisional progress.Journal of Vocational Behavior, 44, 75-90.

Cohen, J. [ 1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences [2nded.). HiUsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentalion: Designand analysis issues for fieU settings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Dorn, E J. (1987). Dispelling career myths: A social influence approach.The School Counselor, 35, 263-267.

Dorn, F. J., & Welch, N. (1985). Assessing career mythology: A profile ofhigh school students, The School Counselor, 33, 136-142.

Eliis, A. [1962). Reason and emotion in psychotherapy. New York: Stuart.Erikson, E. H. [1968). Idetttity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.Fuqua, D. R., & Hartman, B. W [1983). Differential diagnosis and treat-

ment of career indecision. The Personnel and Guidance Journal, 62,27-29.

Gottfredson, L. S. (1981). Circumscription and compromise: A develop-mental theory of occupational aspirations. Journal of Coutiseling Psy-chology, 28, 545-579.

Haase, R. F. (1974). Power analysis of research in counselor education.Counselor Education and Supervision, 14, 124-132.

Haase, R. F., & Ellis, M.V. (1987). Multivariate analysis of variance. Jour-nal of Counseling Psychology, 34, 404-413.

Haase, R. K, Ellis, M. V., & Ladany, N. [1989). Multiple criteria for evalu-ating the magnitude of experimental effects. Journal of CoutiselingPsychology, 36, 51\-5\6.

Harren, V. A. (1979). A model of career decision making for collegeatudents. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14, 119-133.

Healy, C. C, TuUier, M., & Mourton, D. M. (1990). My Vocational Situ-ation: Its relation to concurrent career and future academic bench-marks. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development,23, 100-107.

Heppner, P. P, Kivlighan, D. M., & Wampold, B. E. (1992). Research de-sign in counseling. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Holland, J. L. (1985). Vocational Preference Inventory. Odessa, FL: Psy-chological Assessment Resources.

Holland, J. L., Daiger, D. C, & Power, P G. (1980). My Vocational Situa-tio?i: Manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

.lepsen, D.A. (1984). The developmental perspective on vocational behav-ior:A review of theory and research. In S. D. Brown & R.W. Lent [Eds.),Haru&ook of counseling psychology [pp. 178-215). New York: Wiley.

Jordaan, J. P. [1974). Life stages as organizing modes of career develop-ment. In E. L. Herr [Ed.), Vocational guidance and human dei>elopment[pp. 263-295). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Jordaan, J. P., & Heyde, M. B. (1979). Vocational maturity during the highschool years. New York: Teachers College Press.

Krumboltz, J. D., & Nichols, C.W. (1990). Integrating the social learningtheory of career decision making. In W B.Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.),Career counseling: Contemporary topics in vocational psychology (pp.159-192). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

JOURNAL OF COUNSELING £ DEVELOPMENT * WINTER 1997 * VOLUME 76 51

L a d a n y , M e l i n c o f f , C o n s t a n t i n e . and Love

Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1996). Career developmentfrom a social cognitive perspective. In D. Brown, L. Brooks, & Associ-ates (Eds.), Career choice and development (3rd ed., pp. 373-421). SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lewis, R., & Gilhousen, M. (1981). Myths of career development: Acognitive approach lo vocational counseling. The Personnel and Guid-ance Journal, 60, 296-299.

Lingg, M. (1995). Preemployment training for African American youth.Journal oj Career Development, 22, 67-82.

Loughead, T. A., Liu, S. H., & Middleton, E. B. (1995). Career develop-ment for at-risk youth: A program evaluation. The Career Develop-ment Quarterly, 43, 274-284.

Lunneborg, C. E., & Abbott, R. D. (1983). Elementary multivariate analy-sis for the behavioral sciences. New York; North-Holland.

McWhirter, J. J., McWhirter, B.T., McWhirter, A. M., & McWhirter, E. H.(1995). Youth at risk: Another point of view. Journal of Counseling &^Development, 73, 567-569-

Munson, W. W. (1992). Self-esteem, vocational identity, and career saliencein high school students. The Career Development Quarterly, 40, 361-368.

Petitpas, A. (1978). Identity foreclosure: A unique challenge. The Person-nel and Guidance Journal, 57, 558-561.

Pinkney, J. W, & Ramirez, M. (1985). Career-planning myths of Chicanostudents. Journal of College Student Personnel, 26, 300-305.

Rojewsld, J. W. (1994). Career indecision types for rural adolescentsfrom disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged backgrounds. Journal ofCounseling Psychology, 41, 356-363.

Rosenberg, H. (1977). Games the vocationally undecided play. The Personnel and Guidance Journal, 56, 229-231.

Sharif R. S. (1992). Applying career development theory to counseling. Pa-cific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Stead, G. B., & Watson, M. B. (1992). Construct validity ofthe Commit-ment to Career Choices Scale among South African university stu-dents. Psyc/iofogica/i?eporl5, 70, 1005-1006.

Stevens, J. (1986). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences.Hillsdale, NJ: Eribaum.

Super, D. E. (1957). The psychobgy of careers. New York: Harper & Row.Super, D. E. (1984). Career and life development. In D. Brown, L. Brooks,

& Associates (Eds), Career choice and development {pp. 192-234). SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass.

Super, D. E. (1990). A life-span, life-space approach to career develop-ment. In D. Brown, L. Brooks, & Associates (Eds.), Career choice anddevelopment: Applying contemporary theories to practice (2nd ed., pp.197-261). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Swanson, J. L., Daniels, K, K., & Tokar, D. M. (1996). Assessing percep-tions of career related barriers: The Career Barriers Inventory. Journalof Career Assessment, 4, 219-244.

Tetiock, P E., & Suedfeld, P (1988). Integrative complexity coding ofverbal behavior. In C. Antaki (Ed.), Analysing everyday explanation(pp. 43-59). London: Sage.

Thompson, A. (1976). Client misconceptions in vocational counseling.The Personnel and Guidance Journal, 55, 30-33.

Tiedeman, D.V, & O'Hara, R. P. (1963). Career development: Choice andadjustment. New York: College Entrance Examination Board.

Woodrick, C (1979). The development ami standardization of an attitudescale designed to measure career myths held by college students. Unpub-lished doctoral dissertation, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX.

ClimbingUp FromDepression

LosingSomeoneClose

CareNotes help you make a world of difference to those inyour counseling setting. Over 40 million of these appealingand attractive CareNotes continue to gently guide theirreaders through difficult times.

Choose the titles best suited to your needs from aselection of over 150 titles in the categories: Grief andLoss, Health Care, Personal Healing and Growth, SpiritCare, Family Care, Recovery, and Elder Care.

Write or call for a sampleselection and a complete list of

CareNotes today! 1-800-325-2511

/ ^ M ABBEY PRESS PUBLICATIONS(AKING Dept. P4H'ZLML St. Meinrad. IN 47577

52 JOURNAL OF COUNSELING £ DEVELOPMENT • WINTER 1997 • VOLUME 76