In this study, we conducted a narrative analysis of interviews with unemployed and underemployed adults to better understand their experiences and to learn how they are coping with job loss. Seven men and six women from diverse backgrounds who were receiving career exploration and job search services were interviewed at a one-stop career center in…

Building on diverse influences from critical perspectives in vocational psychology and the relational movement in contemporary psychological discourse, this article introduces the relational theory of working. Attending to the full array of people who work and who want to work, the relational theory conceptualizes working as an inherently…

Using an integrative perspective drawn from vocational psychology and migration studies, this article explores the lives of irregular migrants, which represents a unique aspect of work-based migration. Irregular migrants are those individuals who travel from regions without much work to states that offer some means of employment, without formal…

Drawing upon expectancy value, hope, and self-determination theories, this study explores the contributions of work-based beliefs and autonomy support as predictors of adaptive achievement-related beliefs. Two hundred and one urban high school students who were enrolled in a work-based learning program completed measures of work hope, autonomy…

This article describes a qualitative study examining two interrelated facets of the school-to-work transition among urban high school students: their relationships with important adults within that transition and the ways they experience the subjective aspects of social class and class-related constructs in those relationships. Participants were…

This study explored the role of critical consciousness as a key factor in predicting progress in career development among urban high school students. Critical consciousness, or the capacity to recognize and overcome sociopolitical barriers, was operationalized through sociopolitical analysis and sociopolitical control. Canonical correlation…

The present study examined the relationship between spirituality, religiousness, and career adaptability using a sample of undergraduate students (N=144). We proposed that higher levels of religiousness and spirituality would predict higher levels of career adaptability, defined in this study by career decision self-efficacy and career choice…

This article explores the contributions of social constructionist thought to the development of a relational approach to careers. In this article, the term ''careers'' is defined as encompassing the working lives of all individuals. Using a social constructionist perspective to critique existing assumptions about careers, work, and relationships,…

Analysis of interviews with 17 high school juniors indicated that availability of work-based learning, supportive adults, and orientation to the adult world are associated with readiness for school-to-work transition. Whether motivated by anxiety or interests, resource use resulted in clearer transition plans. Multiple pathways to readiness were…

Uses a sociopolitical framework to develop an inclusive and integrative psychology of working. Key elements emerging from strengths of vocational psychology include a focus on diversity and application of feminist thought. (Contains 45 references.) (SK)

Develops a new framework for career exploration research based on four perspectives: the identity formation process, human motivation and self-determination, sociocultural context, and historical context. Proposes a research agenda. (SK)

Attachment to peers, intimacy, and attachment to mother were positively associated with environmental exploration and commitment to career choices in a study of 147 young adults. Both male and female late adolescents may use peer relationships for support and a buffer from the anxiety related to career decision making. (SK)

Examined vocational hypothesis testing by applying Snyder's hypothesis-testing research paradigm to a vocational task in two experiments. Subjects (N=106) were asked to evaluate the appropriateness of a specific occupation for themselves. Subjects tended to exhibit confirmatory hypothesis-testing strategies when relevant occupations were…

Two studies examined role of self-concept dimensions of clarity, stability, and self-knowledge in career development. First study characterized major canonical root by an association between low self-monitoring and both vocational maturity components. In second study low self-monitoring and internal location of identity were related primarily to…

Administered an individual differences measure of motivational and orientations and a multidimensional measure of exploratory activity and beliefs to undergraduate students (N=154). Canonical analysis yielded one significant canonical root which indicated autonony and control orientations were positively related to self-exploration and beliefs in…