Abstract
Framed by social cognitive career theory, this study identified college students’ perceptions of the most influential sources and content of encouraging/discouraging career messages (vocational anticipatory socialization [VAS]). A survey of 873 university students found that mothers, followed by teachers/professors, friends, and fathers, were perceived to be the most influential encouraging VAS sources. However, first-generation college students were more likely to identify teachers/professors as their most influential VAS source. Friends were identified as most influential source of discouraging messages. The most frequently identified VAS messages gave career details. Mothers were most often described as conveying messages telling their children to pursue a passion for their career, while teachers/professors were frequently reported as providing career detail messages. Based on the VAS messages reported, we speculate that some VAS messages help students overcome perceived barriers by boosting self-efficacy and outcome expectations, confirming students’ individual skills and helping students envision themselves in particular career settings.
Keywords
Vocational anticipatory socialization (VAS) is the communicative process by which individuals intentionally and unintentionally receive socializing occupational messages from their environment that affect their career expectations (Jablin, 2001). VAS begins early in life, as children learn about the world of work and continues as adolescents and young adults make educational and career choices (Goodnow, 1988; Levine & Hoffner, 2006). Based on VAS messages, their own self-concept, and available alternatives, individuals make a series of choices that determine, or at least affect, the direction of their careers (Jablin, 2001).
Most studies in this area focus on a particular VAS source (e.g., parents, media), examining the messages conveyed by that source and how adolescents interpret those messages. For example, Medved, Brogan, McClanahan, Morris, and Shepherd (2006) asked college students about career messages from their parents, finding that the most common message advised students to choose occupations that enable the enjoyment of family and balance of work and family obligations. Hymlö (2006) examined movies targeted to preteen girls and found VAS messages deemphasized girls’ career preparation, characterizing careers as relatively easy to enter, and encouraging women to rely on fathers and boyfriends to support them. Other lines of research have investigated differences in messages based on the students’ gender, race, and socioeconomic status (e.g., Cook, Heppner, & O’Brien, 2002; Metheny & McWhirter, 2013; Tate et al., 2015), but they limited their investigations to only a few VAS sources.
Studies that center on specific or a limited number of VAS sources fail to provide information about who students believe provide them with the most influential vocational and career information and what types of messages those sources convey. Furthermore, VAS scholarship provides little breadth about VAS sources or understanding about the content of their messages.
This study advances scholarship on VAS and career choice by refining VAS and career development models (e.g., Adya & Kaiser, 2005; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994; Myers, Jahn, Gailliard, & Stoltzfus, 2011) regarding the effect of interpersonal communication and students’ perceptions of their most influential sources of encouraging/discouraging career messages and the content of such messages. The results of this study may assist parents, educators, and career counselors in understanding the messages that leave a lasting impression on youths and in crafting messages to positively influence their career choices. Further, this study may guide parents and practitioners to better understand the types of messages that youths find encouraging/discouraging and, thus, assist them in crafting messages that bolster students’ self-efficacy about their career interests.
VAS and Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) in Career Selection
Beginning in early childhood, and continuing through young adulthood, individuals are socialized to various careers through experiences and communication with others as well as messages from various media (Ellison, Wohn, & Greenhow, 2014). Interaction with others and the environment has a prominent role in shaping youths’ beliefs about careers and their related educational pursuits (Vangelisti, 1988), affecting their educational and career choices (Jablin, 2001; Jahn & Myers, 2014). VAS messages frequently come from five sources, including family (Gibson & Papa, 2000; Medved, Brogan, McClanahan, Morris, & Shepherd, 2006), peers (Dick & Rallis, 1991), part-time jobs (Levine & Hoffner, 2006), media (Hoffner, Levine, & Toohey, 2008; Hymlö, 2006), and education (Jablin, 1985; Vangelisti, 1988). Other potential sources include religious institutions (Fox, 2003), social media (Ellison et al., 2014), and societal colloquialisms and cultural ideologies (Clair, 1996; Lair & Wieland, 2012). However, we know little about who adolescents and young adults consider to be primary sources of guidance in their career choices:
Studies have examined the roles of teachers (Dick & Rallis, 1991), mentors (Kram & Isabella, 1985), and parents (Ing, 2014; Tenenbaum & Leaper, 2003) in encouraging youths to pursue particular careers. For example, in a study conducted with 2,080 first-year undergraduates at a mid-Atlantic research university, Gushue and Whitson’s (2006) investigation of African American high school students found that social support from parents and educators has been linked to increases in adolescents’ career decision self-efficacy and outcome expectations. However, Raque-Bogdan, Klingaman, Martin, and Lucas (2013) found that women perceived more career barriers than did men, but women also believed that they received more supportive messages from parents.
While informative, most studies have not examined the content and function of the messages in various contexts. Three studies are exceptions. First, in developing an instrument to assess the influence of family on career and work choices, Fouad et al. (2010) surveyed 205 individuals from two U.S. universities (one rural and one urban). The sample included 49% women, 82% White, and ages ranging from 12 to 53 years. They found support for 10 themes—gender and religious expectations; role models; financial support; informational, emotional, and instrumental support; home–work relationships; family disapproval and resentment; and family resources—suggesting a variety of vocational topics are common in messages given by family. Second, McWhirter, Valdez, and Caban (2013) were interested in educational and career messages received by Latinas. They conducted focus groups with 41 Latina high school students in the Pacific Northwest. Many had been born outside the United States, and only a few had parents with college educations. Most talked about how parents often conveyed that they wanted their children to have opportunities that they themselves had not experienced. The messages focused on staying in school and not having children until they had an education. Teachers’ messages were centered on attaining good grades and going to college, but many reported that the lack of encouragement from some teachers felt like a barrier to their success. In a third study, Jahn and Myers (2014) identified two broad VAS message types—career detail messages (i.e., giving insight into the tasks or context of particular careers) and personal fulfillment messages (i.e., encouraging students to pursue fulfilling careers). The 229 lower and middle-socioeconomic students (47% male; 41% White, 34% Hispanic, 3% Black, and 19% Other) in their study were from five high schools in a 200-mile area of the western United States. The students reported that they were persuaded by personal fulfillment messages, but often were unsure about what careers and tasks they would find fulfilling because of their limited exposure. Instead, students found career detail messages to be most useful because they offered insight into the tasks and environments they may encounter in given professions.
According to SCCT, individual career choice is affected by career interests, the available options, and individual performance and persistence; each of which are strongly affected by a variety of factors, chiefly self-efficacy and outcome expectations (Lent et al., 1994). Individuals consciously and unconsciously evaluate opportunities, costs, and likelihoods of success in setting goals and pursuing careers. Although these are mostly cognitive processes, individuals’ awareness of options and beliefs are affected by information, or messages, received from individuals and environments in particular contexts, enabling them to learn vicariously, exposing them to alternatives, and supporting their choices and achievements (Creed, Buys, Tilbury, & Crawford, 2013; Lent et al., 2005). Framed by SCCT, Raque-Bogdan et al. (2013) examined career barriers and the effects of gender and race on first-year students (White, African American, Asian, and Latino) at a mid-Atlantic, U.S.-based university. They found that parents’ career-related support was related to perceptions of career barriers but also related to coping efficacy. Race was not a significant factor, but females reported more barriers and also more parental support.
While SCCT has proven to be a useful lens for understanding factors that affect the recipients of these messages, we believe SCCT can be utilized to understand how the content of these messages influences students’ motivations and goals. Indeed, VAS messages can facilitate students’ vicarious learning about particular careers. Additionally, students’ perceived social support from family, friends, and significant others has been found to significantly predict career exploration (Turan, Celik, & Turan, 2014). For example, individuals who want to encourage adolescents’ career exploration into a particular area may offer messages that link the students’ skills and talents to elements of the job or work environment, thereby bolstering their self-efficacy. They might choose to depict the career as potentially fun or at least a career that one may enjoy. Alternatively, they may describe desirable outcomes such as the prospective of helping others or a generous salary and benefits. We therefore pose two research questions following from the persons identified in response to Research Question 1:
First-Generation College Students (FGCS)
FGCS have parents who did not earn 4-year degrees and represent approximately one third of students enrolled in 4-year degree programs (Choy, 2002). Most FGCS originate from low-income families and are often racial/ethnic minorities. FGCS typically are less prepared academically for college (Darling & Smith, 2007) and less confident in their academic ability (Gibbons & Borders, 2010). They are more worried than other students about the economic consequences of making the wrong career choice (Laughland-Booÿ, Mayall, & Skrbiš, 2014).
To better understand career challenges FGCS face, Tate et al. (2015) conducted an exploratory study with 15 FGCS (10 women; 6 European Americans, 5 African Americans, 3 Hispanic/Latino, and 1 Asian American) at a large public university in the Southeastern United States. Several themes emerged related to external influences on their career development, their understanding of the career development process, and their self-concept as FGCS. Students shared that their families were very influential in encouraging them to go to college to have better career opportunities, but family members often lacked understanding about navigating college and career entry. The lack of financial stability in their families motivated FGCS to work hard to succeed to have a better life. Compared to other students, they lacked preexisting professional networks but knew they would need to forge their own professional contacts for potential employment and mentoring. The students’ identities as FGCS appeared to make them more resilient and motivated to succeed. While some data have shown higher dropout rates among FGCS than among students whose parents graduated from college (Hageman, 2012), Tate et al.’s study suggests that many FGCS are more driven to accomplish their career goals. Despite the encouragement they might receive from family to attain a higher education, FGCS may seek career guidance from individuals who are outside their families. To extend research on FGCS, particularly about the specific sources and content of VAS messages they receive, we ask:
Method
Participants and Procedure
Participants (N = 881) were recruited from a medium-sized research university on the west coast of the United States, yielding respondents ranging in age from 18 to 64, with a mean and median age of 20. We limited our analyses to students of the more traditional college student age range of 18–25, given our interest in career goals of youths. As such, our sample size was n = 873 and included 24% freshmen, 27% sophomores, 26% juniors, 18% seniors, and 1% graduate students. The sample included students from 47 different majors, including communication (20.7%), psychology (13.5%), economics (11.6%), and biology (11%) with the highest frequencies, and 6.4% had not declared their major. The majority of respondents were female (75%). The survey included six racial/ethnicity options which included an “other” category with a space to write in another response. Most self-identified as Caucasian (38.6%), Hispanic/Latino (18.8%), Other (39.4%), or no response (3.2%). FGCS made up 41% of the sample.
Participants were asked to participate in a career interest survey and were recruited in three ways. First, students were recruited from communication courses via an online research management system to complete an online questionnaire in exchange for research credit. Second, paper copies of the questionnaire were administered at a regular meeting of three campus student organizations. As an incentive, those participants were included in an immediate drawing for a US$20 cash award. Third, a mass e-mail was sent through the university’s career services’ student e-mail listserv inviting students to complete the online survey, emphasizing that those who had already taken the survey should not take it again. A reminder e-mail was sent 6 weeks later. These participants were incentivized with the opportunity to participate in a future drawing for only 1 of 2 US$50 cash prices or 10 US$20 online retailer gift cards.
Measurement
VAS sources and messages
To identify the person that participants perceived as the most influential person to encourage and, separately, discourage their career interests, participants were asked “Think about conversations with others that may have ENCOURAGED you to enter into (or pursue) a particular career. Please think of the most influential person who comes to mind. Who was that person?” The same question was separately asked replacing “ENCOURAGED” with “DISCOURAGED.” Participants were provided answer options from which to choose for mother, father, other family member, teacher/professor, friend, work supervisor, and other (with space for the respondent to type in their answer). Immediately following each of the questions measuring students’ perceived most influential source of encouraging and discouraging VAS messages, respondents were asked “What did that person say?” They responded in a text box with unlimited space.
FGCS status
The FGCS status of respondents was ascertained utilizing a multipart question. First, students were provided a definition: “First generation college students are students whose parents and other immediate family members did not attend college.” Second, they were asked “Are you a first generation college student?” Students were provided the opportunity to answer yes, no, or maybe. Third, students were asked “If you answered maybe, please explain.” They were provided a text box in which to type the response. If the student explained that their parent or immediate family member took some college courses but did not graduate (or that the student was the first to attend a 4-year college), the maybe response was changed to yes to indicate that the student was FGCS. Five participants whose answers could not be categorized were excluded. In total, 41% (n = 340) were categorized as FGCS. This fits the campus profile which reports 42% of the undergraduate population to be FGCS.
Analysis and Results
Research Question 1
Research Question 1 asked who college students report as their most influential VAS sources in encouraging and discouraging their career interests. Because relatively few participants selected the answers other family member (∼9%) or work supervisor (∼3%) in response to the questions about VAS sources encouraging and discouraging their career interest and to increase the power of our statistical analyses, these answers were recoded as other. After consolidation, the write-in responses for other still consisted of only 3% of the total responses for encouraging messages and only 2% of those for discouraging messages and were comprised of 14 discrete categories of VAS sources with such small frequencies that they did not merit inclusion in the data analysis. One-sample χ2 analysis was run to confirm the significance of the different frequencies for VAS sources.
Of the 845 valid responses naming their most influential source of encouraging messages about particular careers, mothers were the most frequently named (n = 222, 26.3%), followed by teachers/professors (n = 179, 21.2%), other (n = 153, 18.1%), friend (n = 146, 17.3%), and father (n = 145, 17.2%; χ2 = 25.266, p < .001, df = 4). Thus, almost half (47.5%) of the participants who responded named their mothers or teachers/professors as whom they perceived to be the most influential source of career encouragement. As a reminder, the frequency of the other response was artificially elevated by the consolidation of the infrequent other family member and work supervisor responses with the actual other responses. As to the VAS sources reported as most influential in discouraging their career interests, the most frequently reported person among 713 total valid responses was friend (n = 194, 27.2%), followed by other (n = 192, 22%), mother (n = 126, 17.7%), and father (n = 124, 17.4%), then teacher/professor (n = 77, 10.8%; χ2 = 70.177, p < .001, df = 4).
Research Question 2
Research Question 2 asked about the VAS messages students received from their perceived most influential sources in encouraging and discouraging their career interests. Of the 734 students who offered valid responses about the encouraging messages they received, most (n = 620) provided only one message. Of the 668 who offered valid responses about discouraging messages they received, 550 offered only one. The messages were coded using a system developed by Jahn and Myers (2014), who categorized VAS messages into two overall types, each with subcategories. First, career detail messages offer students information about a particular career. Two subcategories of career detail messages describe (a) the working world and a particular job environment and (b) opportunities in the specified career. In the current study, none of the messages fit squarely into the category of opportunity messages, so we used only the broad label career detail. The second broad type of messages are personal fulfillment messages that advise students to prioritize their own well-being in career planning including (a) self-actualization—advice based on the students’ passions and their desire to help others, (b) prescription—advice toward a particular career based on the students’ skills, and (c) self-sufficiency—guidance toward careers that offer financial independence. We also found messages we labeled general directives/advice, which included advice that directed the students to enter a particular career without a rationale. Together, the first author and a research assistant coded 10% of the responses clarifying the categories and discussing responses that included multiple response categories. Subsequently, they separately coded the remaining responses and met each week to review and compare their coding. On a few occasions when they could not reach agreement, the second author was consulted for discussion and a final decision (Tracy, 2013).
We obtained frequencies, but χ2 analysis was not appropriate for VAS messages because of the lack of independence of these responses. Of the total 857 encouraging messages cited, the most prevalent were messages providing career detail (n = 338, 39.4%), followed by messages promoting personal fulfillment—self-actualization (n = 250, 29.2%), then providing personal fulfillment—prescription (n = 153, 17.9%). Fewer participants reported encouraging messages promoting personal fulfillment—self-sufficiency (n = 59, 6.9%) or giving a general directive or advice (n = 57, 6.7%; see Table 1). Of the total 797 discouraging messages recounted by participants, the most frequently described provided discouraging career detail information (n = 300, 37.6%), followed by a general directive or advice (n = 187, 23.5%), then personal fulfillment—self-sufficiency messages (n = 182, 22.8%). Discouraging career messages cited least frequently by respondents pertained to personal fulfillment—prescription (n = 96, 12%) and personal fulfillment—self-actualization (n = 32, 4%; see Table 2).
Types of VAS Messages That Encouraged Respondents’ Career Interests.
Note. n = 857. VAS = vocational anticipatory socialization.
Types of VAS Messages That Discouraged Respondents’ Career Interests.
Note. n = 797. VAS = vocational anticipatory socialization.
Research Question 3
Research Question 3 asked about whether certain VAS sources were more likely to convey specific types of encouraging and discouraging messages. We ran hierarchical logistic regression analyses to predict the probabilities of each type of encouraging and discouraging VAS messages using VAS source as a predictor in each model. Because the extant literature supports that gender and race are probable confounding factors, gender and race were included in the analyses as control variables. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to answer Parts (a) and (b) of Research Question 4, using FGCS as a predictor of VAS source of messages that encouraged and discouraged students’ career interests, including gender and race as control variables. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses were conducted to answer Part (c) of Research Question 4 to predict the probabilities of each type of encouraging and discouraging VAS messages using FGCS as a predictor with gender and race as controls.
Here, we summarize the specific analyses of the results responsive to Research Questions 3 and 4. However, more comprehensive results are depicted in Table 3. For Research Question 3, hierarchical logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict each VAS message type using, first, gender and race as control variables, then adding VAS source as a predictor to the model to test for statistical significance against the control variables model as a baseline model. Statistical significance of the gender and race only model was determined using the model χ2 to test the likelihood ratio of the model against the constant only model. Subsequently, VAS source was added to the model to determine whether it significantly improved the fit of the model, by comparing the full model (with gender, race, and VAS source as predictors) against the control variables model (with gender and race only).
Logistic Regression Results for Each Full Model, Adding Message Source to the Gender and Race Only Model (Baseline Model).
Note. Baseline model is the model with the constant and the control variables, gender and race.
aOmnibus test of model step not significant at a p value of less than .05.
*p < .05. **p < .01.
Nagelkerke’s R square (∼R 2) indicates the proportion of the variation in the outcome variable (VAS message) that is explained by the model. Thus, changes in Nagelkerke’s R 2 between the control variables model and the full model provide an estimation of the relative contribution of the addition of the VAS source variable to the model prediction. The Wald criterion provides an index of the significance of each predictor in the model, whereby the variables with significance values of less than .05 contributed significantly to the prediction. The Exp(B) value in the logistic regression equation for each model presents the extent to which a predictor variable influences the odds of the predicted outcome. If the value is greater than 1, then the odds increase as a multiple of the Exp(B) value; if the value is less than 1, the odds decrease as a multiple of 1/Exp(B) (i.e., the inverse of Exp(B)).
As presented in Table 3, using other as the reference category for VAS sources, mothers were 2.56 times less likely than other sources to give career detail messages that encouraged students’ career interests. However, mothers were 2.036 times more likely than other sources to give encouraging personal fulfillment—self-actualization messages. Friends were 2.858 times more likely than other sources to give encouraging personal fulfillment—prescription messages. Teachers/professors were 4.51 times less likely than other sources to have been described as giving a directive to encourage respondents’ career interests. Having controlled for gender and race, we also learned that females are 2.244 times more likely than males to receive personal fulfillment—prescription messages from encouraging sources. Furthermore, Hispanics are 1.972 times more likely than Caucasians to receive personal fulfillment—self-actualization messages, and 1.89 times less likely to receive career detail messages from encouraging sources.
As for discouraging VAS messages, friends were 4.504 times more likely than other sources to provide personal fulfillment—self-actualization messages that discouraged respondents from particular career interests. Teachers were 2.08 times less likely than other sources to give discouraging personal fulfillment—self-sufficiency messages, but 2.5 times more likely to give discouraging personal fulfillment—prescription messages.
Research Question 4
Research Question 4 asked if there was a difference based on FGCS status in who was reported as the source of (a) encouraging and (b) discouraging VAS messages and (c) the types of messages they conveyed. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to answer Parts (a) and (b), using FGCS, gender, and race to predict the VAS sources identified by students as encouraging and discouraging their career interests (see Table 4). As to the encouraging VAS sources, a test of the full model against the constant only model was statistically significant (χ2 = 33.323, p < .01 with df = 16), indicating that the predictors as a set (FGCS, gender, and race) reliably predicted categories of encouraging VAS sources. Nagelkerke’s R 2 of .042 indicated a weak relationship between the predictors and the prediction, whereby only 4.2% of the variation in the VAS sources of encouraging messages identified by participants was explained by the set of predictors. The likelihood ratio tests indicated that FGCS was the only significant predictor of encouraging VAS sources (p = .001). Gender (p = .700) and race (p = .486) were not significant predictors. Although FGCS status was overall a significant predictor, the Wald criterion did not show significance of FGCS in individually contributing to the prediction of the categories of VAS sources. Nonetheless, based on the positive or negative signs of the β values in the parameter estimates for the variables, it is apparent that students who were FGCS were less likely than non-FGCS to name mother and father, and more likely than non-FGCS to name teacher/professor and friend, as the sources of VAS messages encouraging their career interests. As to the discouraging VAS sources, a test of the full model against the constant only model was not statistically significant (p = .603), indicating that the predictors as a set (FGCS, gender, and race) did not reliably predict categories of discouraging VAS sources.
Logistic Regression Results for each Full Model, Adding FGCS Status to the Gender and Race Only Model (Baseline Model).
Note. Baseline model is the model with the constant and the control variables, gender and race. FGCS = first-generation college students.
aOmnibus test of model step not significant at a p value of less than .05.
*p < .05. **p < .01.
Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to answer Part (c) of Research Question 4 following the same process as described above for Research Question 3, except the full model included FGCS status as the additional predictor variable to then compare to the control variables model (gender and race only) as the baseline model. As can be seen from the results presented in Table 4, none of the full models (including FGCS, gender, and race as predictors) were significantly better at predicting message type than the baseline model containing gender and race only. Therefore, there is no statistically significant difference based on FGCS status in the VAS messages students perceived as encouraging or discouraging their career interests.
Discussion
This study explored several foundational aspects of VAS, including students’ perceptions about sources and types of encouraging and discouraging career messages and whether such messages were related to race, gender, and FGCS status. We draw on SCCT to frame the findings and implications.
Students most frequently identified mothers as the most influential source of encouraging messages about particular careers. Although this appears to counter Clair’s (1996) finding that fathers were the most frequent source of career advice, in the current study, participants were asked who provided specifically encouraging, followed by discouraging, career advice. Mothers were mentioned by more than a quarter of the students indicating that their messages frequently encourage their children, guiding them to pursue careers that fit their passion. Because they were cited as the second most frequent source of discouraging messages, mothers’ messages may also direct children away from what may not be fulfilling career choices. Unfortunately, while these messages may encourage students to not settle for a career that would not make them happy, this type of advice may not be as useful to students as other types of messages. As Jahn and Myers (2014) found, students complain that messages instructing adolescents to seek their passion are not especially helpful because most adolescents are not sure about the jobs/careers for which they would find passion. Instead, students value career detail messages, which give them insight into tasks and environments of particular careers. Fathers were mentioned much less frequently as a source of encouraging messages.
Fathers were perceived to suggest that their children select careers that fit their skills, but they also guided their children toward jobs that would provide financial independence. Students reported that teachers/professors frequently gave career detail messages and, like fathers, messages describing the student’s fit or abilities that would suit particular careers. Consistent with SCCT, these types of messages may help students to envision outcomes—themselves in the workplace and performing the particular job. Additionally, when teachers/professors and fathers make it clear that their suggestion is based on their assessment of the students’ abilities, they may strengthen students’ self-efficacy in pursuing those careers. Such advice could be beneficial in helping adolescents overcome perceived barriers that can diminish self-efficacy and career expectations.
Overall, messages providing career detail emerged as the most frequently received type of message from an encouraging source. Students may find these encouraging because they appreciate hearing about what he or she could expect in a particular career environment (Jahn & Myers, 2014). This type of information may assist students in understanding the lifestyle associated with the career and the people with whom they may work. The second most commonly identified encouraging message was personal fulfillment—self-actualization, promoting emotional fulfillment in a career; the third most common was personal fulfillment—prescription, linking the student’s pragmatic abilities or skills to particular job/careers. These are notable findings because, according to SCCT, students with higher self-efficacy can overcome barriers and are inclined to pursue and persist when they believe they can achieve positive outcomes and personal goals. By drawing connections between on-the-job tasks and students’ personal enjoyment and abilities, individuals who provide these messages may intentionally or unintentionally provide one of the most significant sources of inspiration for the students.
Friends were cited as the most frequent source of discouraging messages about particular careers, followed by mothers and fathers. This result supports prior research finding perceived social support from friends to be more strongly related to students’ career exploration than perceived support from family (Turan et al., 2014). Friends were identified as most frequently discouraging career interests about particular careers by commenting that it would not suit the students’ passions or interests, supporting previous research that found friends to be a valuable reality check (Levine & Hoffner, 2006). Friends frequently discuss family members’ careers, offering insights into pros and cons of occupations and exerting pressure on each other to conform to shared values (Jablin, 2001; Peterson & Peters, 1983). Consistent with SCCT, messages imparting information about the students’ lack of suitability for a career may cause students to look for careers leading to potentially better outcomes.
It is worth noting that we found only small differences in the types of messages given by particular VAS sources based on the students’ gender or race. This finding contrasts with previous VAS investigations indicating that daughters, more than sons, may receive more messages to prioritize family over career (e.g., Medved et al., 2006). However, this result should be interpreted relative to the fact that 75% of the respondents were female and, because our analysis required that we group students into three racial categories (Caucasian, Hispanic, and Other), some nuances related to race might be hidden. Finally, when we controlled for race and gender, we did not find that FGCS identified significantly different VAS messages from their perceived influential sources. However, the data indicate that FGCS perceived that they received their most encouraging messages from teachers/professors. This is not unexpected, given that their parents may not be familiar with the types of careers for which they aspire. For these students, teachers/professors who may have more insight about white-collar careers and the skills/knowledge they require are in a better position to provide the most useful encouraging messages to students. Also, teacher/professors may know best how to bolster student self-efficacy and motivations. Although parents may wish for their children to enjoy their careers, parents of FGCS may desire that their children attain careers that provide financial stability. Messages instructing sons and daughters to find a job in which they can support themselves and their families may be useful, but students may not find them to be especially encouraging. Therefore, had we not first asked for the most encouraging source and then asked what message he or she provided, we might have found that students commonly receive other types of messages.
Implications
This study offers two important theoretical implications. First, SCCT explains the importance of individuals’ beliefs in themselves, with emphasis on how factors such as self-efficacy are related to success expectancy, the ability to overcome barriers, and students’ perceived likelihood of attaining a desirable outcome. However, this study underscores the heuristic value of SCCT for interpreting the types of messages that influential others give to youths. In addition to encouraging students to pursue jobs in which they will be passionate, the most encouraging messages may be those that provide details about a career, allowing students to envision themselves in career roles and to evaluate whether the role and environment would be satisfying. Additionally, messages that boost students’ self-efficacy could help students envision positive career outcomes. Therefore, these messages may bolster students’ beliefs in their ability to be successful in a given career and, thus, are likely to be influential and retained by students. Second, according to SCCT, individuals can learn about and develop interests in particular careers based on messages that foster their vicarious learning. We advance VAS research by identifying what students most commonly perceive to be encouraging and discouraging VAS messages as well as the sources of these messages. Previous VAS research has traditionally focused on particular sources of VAS, then asked adolescents to identify the most common messages associated with those sources. Instead, the current study approached VAS by first asking students about most encouraging/discouraging sources and then we asked the students about the content of the message. Thus, rather than preselecting a source that may or may not be influential, in this study, the students determined the source.
Practical implications also emerged. First, although mothers were the most commonly cited source of encouraging messages, they may not provide the most useful messages. Mothers and influential others may be more effective if, in addition to suggesting that students select a career based on potential passion/enjoyment, they provided them with information about the career—the work environment, descriptions of tasks, and positives and negatives about the job (Jahn & Myers, 2014). Second, career counselors have the power to help adolescents overcome perceived barriers by offering messages that encourage them to not only explore potential careers through internships and part-time jobs but also to capitalize on their unique abilities. Third, educators should be aware of the important role they play in providing career guidance to FGCS. FGCS are less likely to have parents who hold the types of jobs for which they aspire (Tate et al., 2015). Their parents may lack firsthand knowledge about these careers and how to guide their children to prepare for them (Hageman, 2012). Teachers and professors may be their best source of information and, thus, should be instructed to find opportunities to provide extra advice about the career environment and how the students’ skills and other abilities will contribute to the students’ success in a role.
Limitations and Future Research
This study is not without limitations that constrain its generalizability. First, albeit a large sample, data for this study were collected at one university. Future research should survey students at several universities, and potentially other venues outside educational institutions, to obtain data from students representing various geographic regions and a broader range of socioeconomic status. Second, nearly three quarters of the respondents were females. A larger percentage of males may have better revealed differences between males and females. Third, this study relied on students’ abilities to recall their most encouraging and discouraging sources and messages. This critique is a frequent concern for research that cannot easily be collected in situ. Fourth, students likely are influenced by a variety of VAS sources and messages. This study was limited to whom the students identified as the most influential. Future research could aim to explore multiple influential VAS sources and their messages. Finally, future research should directly survey VAS sources to determine whether they intentionally craft messages to expose youths to careers, increase self-efficacy, and spark student career interests consistent with SCCT.
Conclusion
Parents, educators, employers, and others are concerned about how adolescents and young adults learn about and make choices about careers. For many students, decisions about careers continue throughout their time in college. Thus, investigating who college students deem to be their most influential encouraging/discouraging source of career information is useful to expand knowledge of VAS. We know little about who most influences students’ choices and about the messages they give to encourage or discourage career choices. Previous research has focused on the socializing messages given by predetermined VAS sources. The current investigation asked university students to identify the more encouraging and discouraging sources of career advice. In addition, this study investigated how VAS sources and their messages vary based on FGCS status. Although we found few differences in their VAS, future research should continue to explore the VAS experiences of females versus males and FGCS versus non-FGCS. Finally, this study speculated about whether SCCT may at least partially explain that VAS message sources aim to convey messages that are encouraging/discouraging, potentially affecting self-efficacy and students’ perceived abilities to predict positive career outcomes.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Seed money for this project was provided by the Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research at UC Santa Barbara.