The factor structure of the Career Decision Scale: Similarities across selected studies

doi:10.1016/0001-8791(88)90015-2

Journal of Vocational Behavior

Volume 32, Issue 2, April 1988, Pages 213-225

https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(88)90015-2 Get rights and content

Abstract

The factor structure of the Career Decision Scale (CDS) was examined by comparing the findings of seven previous factor analytic studies. Inconsistent findings regarding the factor structure of the CDS could generally be accounted for by the diversity of factoring techniques and method for communality estimation and by the fact that all previous studies relied on Varimax (orthogonal) rotational procedures. In comparing coefficients of congruence between previous studies based on Varimax solutions with those based on Promax (oblique) solutions (which were recalculated), it was found that the Promax-based coefficients portrayed less complexity and more similarity in factors across studies. A new factor analytic study of the CDS was conducted (N = 698) that was designed to avoid the methodological problems of previous studies. Results suggested that a “Simple” model of the CDS factor structure could be derived in which each CDS item loaded saliently on only one factor. Implications of these findings for the demonstration of factorial validity, factorial invariance, and the possible construction of CDS subscales are discussed.

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Cited by (56)

An examination of career indecision and application to dispositional authenticity
2011, Journal of Vocational Behavior
Citation Excerpt :
Higher scores indicated greater indecision. While the factor structure of the scale has been debated, Shimizu, Vondracek, Schulenberg, and Hostetler (1988) found a four-factor structure that included diffusion (3 items), support (3 items), approach–approach (3 items), and external barriers (4 items). Shimizu et al. (1988) noted that three items did not load saliently on one factor (i.e., according to the Simple Structure Model).
Authenticity has been viewed as a dimension related to life satisfaction, but we propose that authenticity is related to career outcomes. In this study, we examined the relation between authenticity and career indecision. Authenticity was assessed by the Authenticity Scale and it was found to be moderately related to different indices of career indecision in a sample of 537 undergraduate university students. Results are discussed in terms of their clinical and research implications and encourage a broader perspective in conceptualizing vocational concerns.
Positive career orientation as an inhibitor of adolescent problem behaviour
2007, Journal of Adolescence
Citation Excerpt :
Osipow, Carney, and Barak (1976) reported 2-week test–retest reliabilities for the CDS ranging from .82 to .90. The four-item subscale that measures Barriers to Career Decision Making was constructed on the basis of extensive previous research on the factor structure of the CDS (Schulenberg, Shimizu, Vondracek, & Hostetler, 1988; Shimizu, Vondracek, Schulenberg, & Hostetler, 1988; Shimizu, Vondracek, & Schulenberg, 1994; Vondracek, Hostetler, Schulenberg, & Shimizu, 1990). A representative item from the Barriers to Career Decision Making subscale is “I thought I knew what I wanted for a career, but recently I found out that it wouldn’t be possible for me to pursue it.
This study tested the hypothesis that positive career orientation can prevent adolescents from engaging in or escalating problem behaviour. A 1-year, longitudinal study was conducted on a sample of 234 junior-high and high-school students, who were 14.8 years old on the average in the beginning of the study. Using structural equation modeling, a developmental, two-wave, two-factor empirical model corresponding to the predicted relationships between career orientation and problem behaviour was found to fit the data well. According to the fitted model, positive career orientation had a significant negative longitudinal effect on problem behaviour. In contrast, we found no evidence in support of the assumption that career orientation can be affected by problematic behavioural tendencies.
Mapping the domain of career decision problems
2002, Journal of Vocational Behavior
The domain of career decision problems has not been adequately explored. Consequently, it is difficult to determine how well existing instruments sample the career indecision construct. The authors conducted a factor analysis of the Career Decision Scale, Career Factors Inventory, and Career Decision Difficulties Questionnaire with undecided college students to explore the indecision domain. They found six reliable factors: Lack of Information, Need for Information, Trait Indecision, Disagreement with Others, Identity Diffusion, and Choice Anxiety. They conducted a cluster analysis of these six factors to explore the structure of the indecision domain and found three clusters: Information Deficit/Identity Diffusion, Decision Process Inhibitors, and Choice Inhibitors. The authors propose a definition of the domain of career decision problems, discuss implications of the results for career counseling, and critique existing instruments on their coverage of the domain.
Psychological Separation and Dimensions of Career Indecision in Secondary School Students
2000, Journal of Vocational Behavior
Lopez and Andrews (1987) interpreted career indecision as an indicator of the inadequate psychological separation of adolescents from their parents. However, various empirical studies have not managed to clearly demonstrated evidence of a relationship between systemic family variables and career indecision. This investigation, which involves a sample of 418 adolescents of both sexes in the 12th grade of secondary school, analyzed the relationship between conflictual and emotional independence and two dimensions of career indecision: developmental indecision and generalized indecision. As a principal methodology of statistical analysis, a canonical correlation analysis, one for each gender, was used. There were no relationships between the two sets of variables. The results were interpreted in light of the fact that some subjects could be classified as foreclosure in terms of identity status. A model of career decision status is proposed.
Assessing Career Indecision
1999, Journal of Vocational Behavior
The relation of career indecision to personality dimensions of the California psychological inventory
1999, Journal of Vocational Behavior
This study examined the relationship between career indecision and personality dimensions represented on the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), using high and low career indecision groups. The 20 scales of the CPI were factor analyzed, yielding four factors: Extraversion, Control, Flexibility, and Consensuality. Establishing cutoff scores on the Career Decision Scale and My Vocational Situation, high and low indecision groups were created. Factor scores were computed for participants, and a MANOVA was performed with the career groups representing two levels of the independent variable with the four factor scores serving as the depending variables. The high and low indecision groups were found to differ significantly on a linear combination of the CPI factor scores. The profiles of the two indecision groups were also compared using meanTscores for the 20 CPI scales. There was a clear tendency for the low indecision group to score higher on CPI dimensions, significantly so on 12 of 20 scales.

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^☆: This study was supported in part by grants from the Center for the Study of Child and Adolescent Development of The Pennsylvania State University to Fred W. Vondracek, and from the Purdue Research Foundation, Purdue University, to John E. Schulenberg.

^☆☆: This study was conducted while Kazuaki Shimizu was a Visiting Professor at The Pennsylvania State University's College of Human Development.

¹: Kazuaki Shimizu is Associate Professor of Vocational Guidance at Kansai University, Osaka, Japan.

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The factor structure of the Career Decision Scale: Similarities across selected studies☆,☆☆

Abstract

Journal of Vocational Behavior

Journal of Vocational Behavior

Journal of Vocational Behavior

Journal of Vocational Behavior

Journal of Vocational Behavior

Test reviews: Career decision scale

Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development

Beyond validity and reliability: Some further concepts and coefficients for evaluating tests

Journal of Experimental Education

The scree test for the number of factors

Multivariate Behavioral Research

The importance of factor-trueness and validity, versus homogeneity and orthogonality in test scales

Educational and Psychological Measurement

The behavior of number-of-factors rules with simulated data

Multivariate Behavioral Research

Career Decision Scale

The construct validity of the career decision scale adapted for graduate students

Vocational Guidance Quarterly

The construct validity of the Career Decision Scale administered to high school students

The Vocational Guidance Quarterly

Predictive validity of the Career Decision Scale administered to high school students

Psychological Reports