Wiley: The Career Development Quarterly: Table of Contents

Narrative Change in Career Construction Counseling: A Replication Study

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 03:56:51 -0700

ABSTRACT

This study analyzes the evolution of clients’ narrative transformation in career construction counseling. The intervention was administered to 19 participants, and its effects were assessed using standardized measures of vocational certainty, vocational identity, career decision-making ability, and psychological distress. Participants’ narrative change was assessed using the Innovative Moments Coding System. Results indicated that the intervention was effective, yielding significant improvements in vocational certainty and identity, as well as a reduction in psychological distress. Although interindividual variability was observed, the findings replicate the previously established pattern of narrative change characterized by a gradual accumulation of narrative innovations that evolves toward increasing levels of narrative complexity. Additionally, the results provide further evidence that narrative innovations of a lower level of complexity play a central role in facilitating the good outcomes of counseling. The implications of these findings for both future research and vocational practice are discussed.

How Does Academic Marginalization Impact Mental Well‐Being? Exploring the Mediating Roles of Vocational Identity and Occupational Engagement

Eunjin Han — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:47:02 -0700

ABSTRACT

In an increasingly volatile global job market, students’ career development is shaped by both personal capacities and structural barriers. This study examined how academic marginalization—particularly related to educational background—influences the mental well-being of South Korean college students, with attention to the mediating roles of vocational identity and occupational engagement. Using a conceptual model informed by career development and sociocultural perspectives, we surveyed 330 students and recent graduates navigating the school-to-work transition. The findings revealed that while marginalization was negatively associated with vocational identity and mental well-being, it did not directly influence occupational engagement. However, vocational identity served as a partial mediator between marginalization and well-being, and a sequential mediation pathway was identified through which vocational identity affected occupational engagement, which in turn influenced mental well-being. These results highlight the importance of fostering vocational identity and proactive career engagement to buffer the psychological effects of structural disadvantage. Although situated in the South Korean context, the study offers transferable insights for higher education systems globally—particularly in the United States—where students from nontraditional or marginalized academic backgrounds face similar inequities. Implications for institutional support, career development programming, and student mental health services are discussed.

Fostering Hopeful Career State in the Workplace: The Roles of Organizational and Supervisory Support

Hyung Joon Yoon, Yu‐Ling Chang, Hubert Van Hoof, Ruth Ann Bast — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:47:02 -0700

ABSTRACT

In the hospitality industry, supporting employee career development to enhance job satisfaction and reduce turnover intentions has been a persistent challenge for career development professionals. This study of 393 hospitality workers in the United States demonstrates a serial mediation effect where organizational career support and perceived supervisor support affect employees’ job satisfaction and turnover intentions through hopeful career state and work engagement. The results provide career counselors and workplace career development specialists with a framework for understanding how career-related support can enhance employees’ career hope, potentially creating more engaged and satisfied workers. This study contributes to the literature by applying the Agentic Human Resource Development Process (AHRDP) to extend the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model in a career development context, suggesting that hopeful career state is a key mediating variable that precedes work engagement. This offers a new lens for career development professionals to understand the factors influencing career development outcomes in organizational contexts.

Tackling Indecision and Indecisiveness: The Effectiveness of a Career Decision‐Making Course for Chinese High School Students

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:47:02 -0700

ABSTRACT

China's reformed college entrance examination (Gaokao) system has intensified the complexity of career decision-making for high school students. This study evaluated a 14-week cognitive information processing (CIP) theory-based career course against existing school programs for addressing career indecision (cognitive difficulties) and indecisiveness (emotional/personality difficulties) in 300 10th-graders (149 CIP, 151 control). Assessments using the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire–Chinese Version (CDDQ–C) and Emotional and Personality-Related Career Decision-Making Difficulties Scale–Short Form (EPCD–SF) were conducted at pretest, posttest, and 3-month follow-up. Compared to existing courses, the CIP-based course significantly reduced career indecision and the pessimistic views dimension of career indecisiveness, with effects sustained at follow-up. Notably, existing courses showed delayed effects on decreasing other aspects of career indecisiveness. Results highlight the importance of incorporating decision-making frameworks and meta-cognitive strategies into career education and suggest a need for sustained, multifaceted support for emotional/personality-related challenges.

A Gateway to the Future or a Mind Trapped in Anxiety? The Transformative Power of Career Resources

Emre Emrullah Boğazlıyan, Ahmet Ayaz — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:47:02 -0700

ABSTRACT

This study explores the indirect impact of employment anxiety on university students’ perceptions of decent work through the serial mediating roles of motivational and environmental career resources. Data were collected from 458 university students in Türkiye using validated scales. Analysis via Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 6) revealed that while employment anxiety did not directly predict perceptions of future decent work, its indirect effects through motivational and environmental career resources were statistically significant. The results support the hierarchical interaction model of career resources and align with the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT), highlighting the importance of internal psychological capacities and external support systems in shaping career outlooks. Findings underscore the need for integrated career counseling approaches that strengthen individuals’ self-efficacy and enhance access to environmental supports. The study offers practical implications for developing multilayered career interventions and youth employment policies, particularly in contexts marked by economic uncertainty and high youth unemployment.

Racism at Work: A Critical Qualitative Investigation

Michael Gordon, Camille M. Smith, Whitney Erby, David L. Blustein — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:47:02 -0700

ABSTRACT

An area of life that is profoundly impacted by anti-Black racism is the world of work. Black Americans face persistent barriers from hiring to wage inequality to everyday mistreatment. In response, we conducted a critical qualitative investigation to explore how racism manifests in workplaces, uncover overlooked aspects of Black Americans’ work lives, and examine their responses and resistance to racism and white supremacy within hierarchical work-based structures. Twelve Black-identifying participants shared their workplace experiences through in-depth qualitative interviews. Participants’ narratives revealed racism at work as a pervasive, dehumanizing experience characterized by themes such as experiences of institutional racism, stereotypes, and isolation at work. In the face of racism, participants described drawing on social support, personal strengths, and acts of resistance to navigate their work environments. The findings of this study underscore the need for integrative, culturally responsive counseling approach, such as radical healing alongside sustained structural and policy reforms to address systemic racism to improve the working conditions and well-being for Black workers.

Employees' Antifragility After Job Loss: A Qualitative Study on Intrinsic Motivation and Career Reinvention

Nguyen Hoang Phuc, Luong Bich An, Nguyen Thi Huong Giang, Huynh Trong Hien — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:47:02 -0700

ABSTRACT

In the face of growing labor market instability driven by technological disruption, economic volatility and public health crises, job loss has become an increasingly common and deeply disruptive experience, especially for young adults at the beginning of their careers. This qualitative study investigates how members of Generation Z in Vietnam rebuild motivation and develop antifragility following involuntary job loss. Drawing on interviews and focus group discussions with 37 participants, the findings reveal a three-stage process: (1) emotional disorientation and identity disruption; (2) reactivation of intrinsic motivation through self-directed actions; and (3) the emergence of antifragility—marked by proactive adaptation, flexible career reinvention and a redefinition of success. Rather than a fixed trait, antifragility is conceptualized as a psychological capacity that develops when individuals gradually restore autonomy, competence and social connection. The study expands existing theories of career adaptation by showing how intrinsic motivation drives growth beyond resilience in response to adversity. It also highlights the urgent need for policies and support systems that go beyond reemployment to promote psychological renewal and sustainable career development in uncertain times.

Work Volition and Decent Work: A Meta‐Analysis

Bünyamin Atay, Banu Cingöz‐Ulu, Kelsey L. Autin, Blake A. Allan — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:47:02 -0700

ABSTRACT

Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) posits that work volition, a person's perceived freedom of work choice despite barriers, allows people to access decent work. As this relationship has received considerable research attention in the last decade, we conducted a meta-analysis for synthesizing the accumulated evidence to this theoretically proposed relationship. We meta-analyzed the findings of 43 effect sizes (N = 18,659) across 42 unique publications. A positive and large summary effect size (r = 0.48, p < 0.001) showed that work volition was strongly related to decent work. While there is considerable heterogeneity across the results, the strength of this relationship was not moderated by the proposed variables (e.g., cultural dimensions) in this study. Overall, we presented empirical evidence supporting the theoretical association between work volition and decent work postulated by PWT. By identifying a critical error in the current meta-analysis literature—namely, the practice of treating manifest and latent correlations as equivalent effect sizes—this research also makes a substantial contribution to improving future meta-analyses within the PWT.

Issue Information

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:47:02 -0700

The Career Development Quarterly, Volume 74, Issue 2, Page 85-85, June 2026.

Career Development Among University Students in STEM Fields: Analyses Through the Psychology of Working Theory

Alexsandro Luiz De Andrade, Mariana Ramos de Melo, Gabriela Pelissari Morello — Fri, 29 May 2026 22:00:13 -0700

ABSTRACT

This study examined the career development of Brazilian undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields through the lens of the psychology of working theory (PWT), focusing on career barriers, volition, social support, and future decent work. The sample comprised 489 students from public institutions who were predominantly young, male, and economically dependent. Findings indicated that career barriers negatively predicted volition and future decent work, while the latter was positively associated with satisfaction with the academic major. Volition functioned as a mediator between barriers and decent work. Different sources of social support exerted specific moderating effects: family support softened the negative impact of barriers on volition, whereas support from significant others mitigated the effect of barriers on decent work. The results reinforce the applicability of the PWT to the Brazilian context and reveal that, even in fields considered promising, students experience vulnerabilities that affect their career trajectories.

Mentoring Support, Career Self‐Efficacy, and Career Engagement Among First‐Generation College Students: Testing the Career Self‐Management Model

Yangyang Liu, Hyeri Hong — Tue, 26 May 2026 02:27:00 -0700

ABSTRACT

Guided by the social cognitive model of career self-management (CSM), this study investigated the relationships among mentoring support, career self-efficacy, and career engagement among 357 first-generation college students (FGCS), primarily from racially and ethnically minoritized backgrounds. Structural equation modeling revealed that mentoring support had a significant positive effect on career engagement, both directly and indirectly through career self-efficacy. These findings provide empirical evidence for applying the CSM model to this understudied student population and offer implications for research and practice to promote FGCS’ career development through strategies targeting mentoring and self-efficacy.

Linking Decisional Support to Career Self‐Efficacy and Outcome Expectations via Learning Experiences in Turkish Undergraduates

Ersoy Carkit — Tue, 12 May 2026 23:48:14 -0700

ABSTRACT

Drawing on the social cognitive model of career self-management, the present study examines the relationships among decisional support, learning experiences (i.e., mastery experiences, verbal persuasion, vicarious learning, positive emotions, and negative emotions), self-efficacy, and outcome expectations in relation to career exploration and decision-making. Employing a sample of 349 Turkish undergraduate students, path analysis results showed that decisional support positively predicted mastery experiences, verbal persuasion, vicarious learning, and positive emotions and negatively predicted negative emotions. Mastery experiences and positive emotions positively predicted self-efficacy, whereas learning experiences did not predict outcome expectations. Self-efficacy positively predicted outcome expectations. Decisional support did not predict self-efficacy or outcome expectations. The results contribute to the growing literature on learning experiences in career exploration and decision-making. Implications and limitations are presented.

Career Awareness and Career Futures: The Mediating Roles of Career Adaptability and Career Stress Among Preservice Teachers

Serdar Bozan, Bünyamin Ağalday — Fri, 08 May 2026 22:44:06 -0700

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the impact of career awareness on career futures and the mediating roles of career adaptability and career stress. Data were collected from 502 preservice teachers in Türkiye using a quantitative, correlational design with structural equation modeling. Results showed that career awareness directly predicted career futures and indirectly influenced them by enhancing adaptability and reducing stress. The model explained a substantial portion of the variance in career futures. Findings underscore career awareness as a key factor in strengthening adaptability, alleviating stress, and fostering positive, future-oriented career outcomes in teacher education.