Profession Comm. 7

DECISION-MAKING SELF-EFFICACY MEDIATES THE PEER SUPPORT–CAREER EXPLORATION RELATIONSHIP

HUAFENG ZHANG Tsinghua University

HAITAO HUANG Shanghai Normal University

We explored the mediating effect of decision-making self-efficacy in the relationship between undergraduates’ perceived career-related peer support and career exploration. Participants were 650 junior and senior undergraduates from 6 public universities in Shanghai, China. The key results were as follows: (1) career information and suggestion, emotional support, and peer role models were the 3 dominant factors of career-related peer support; (2) career-related peer support was positively and significantly correlated with career exploration; and (3) career decision-making self-efficacy mediated the relationship between career-related peer support and career exploration. Specifically, career information and suggestion and peer role models provided proximal and distal support, promoting individuals’ career exploration not only directly but also indirectly through career decision-making self-efficacy. In comparison, emotional support from peers provided only distal support, promoting individual career exploration indirectly through career decision-making self-efficacy. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings, study limitations, and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords: peer support, decision-making self-efficacy, career exploration, career planning, career development.

In recent years, more than seven million graduates from universities and colleges have been entering the job market every year in China; thus, Chinese

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2018, 46(3), 485–498 © 2018 Scientific Journal Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.6410

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Huafeng Zhang, Institute of Education, Tsinghua University; Haitao Huang, School of Education, Shanghai Normal University. This research was sponsored by the Shanghai Pujiang Project (15PJC076) and the Shanghai Gaofeng and Gaoyuan Project for University Academic Program Development. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Haitao Huang, Research Institute for International and Comparative Education, School of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Guilin Road 100, Xuhui, Shanghai 200234, People’s Republic of China. Email: huanghaitao2002@ 126.com

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college graduates face great competition for employment (China News, 2016). The central government in China has issued many policies to relieve the employment pressure of graduates, including permitting more time to complete a qualification and encouraging college graduates to start their own business. In addition, university administrators and teachers emphasize that students should participate in career exploration activities. Career exploration refers to purposefully and intentionally seeking to identify career goals and foster career development, and involves gathering self-related and environment-related information, and testing relevant hypotheses about the most suitable career goals and career development strategies (e.g., Blustein, 1992; Zikic & Hall, 2009). It has been widely shown that active career exploration is positively related to career maturity and self-concept, and is beneficial for developing the career interests of graduates and facilitating employment opportunities (e.g., Taveira & Moreno, 2003; Xu, Hou, & Tracey, 2014). As a result, scholars and practitioners have explored ways to promote career exploration among college students.

Previous researchers (e.g., Ochs & Roessler, 2004; Patton, Bartrum, & Creed, 2004) have shown that individual characteristics, including self-esteem, self-efficacy, and personality, are correlated with career exploration. Additionally, parental rearing patterns and child-centered parental behaviors have been found to influence students’ career exploration (e.g., Kracke, 1997, 2002). However, there has been little research into the effect of peers, especially peer support, on career exploration.

General peer support and social support shed light on the structure of career-related peer support. Peer support refers to the support of people who are in a similar situation and come together to advocate for each other through local groups (Juang, Ittel, Hoferichter, & Gallarin, 2016; O’Hagan, Cyr, McKee, & Priest, 2010), providing academic and/or emotional support, communicating their expectations and values, and offering advice and instruction (Kiefer, Alley, & Ellerbrock, 2015; Wentzel, Battle, Russell, & Looney, 2010). Additionally, peer support has been recognized as an essential component of social support, which includes financial support, emotional support, suggestions and guidance, and informational exchange (e.g., Bum & Jeon, 2016; Hou, Bai, & Yao, 2010). In addition, considering that students obtain little, if any, financial support from their peers compared to their parents (del Valle, Bravo, & López, 2010), comparison and encouragement among peers is more popular within Chinese culture. Hence, we defined career-related peer support as the acquisition of career-related information, suggestions, emotional support, and role modeling from peers (e.g., classmates and friends).

In the context of the collectivist culture of China, college students live close to each other on campuses, turning to each other rather than to parents for help during the career development process. Thus, we formed the following research

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questions: (1) Is perceived career-related peer support beneficial for individual career exploration? and (2) How does career-related peer support affect career exploration?

Literature Review and Development of Hypotheses

Career-Related Peer Support and Career Exploration General peer support has been applied widely and found to be beneficial in

research on mental health services (see, e.g., Davidson, Bellamy, Guy, & Miller, 2012; Walker & Bryant, 2013) and education (see, e.g., Geerlings, Cole, Batt, & Martin-Lynch, 2016; Kodabux & Hoolash, 2015). Similarly, career-related peer support has been found to play a positive role in individual career exploration and development. For example, Felsman and Blustein (1999) found that attachment to peers and maintenance of intimate relationships were positively associated with environmental exploration and commitment to career choices. Additionally, Kracke (2002) found that talking frequently with peers about career-related issues was significantly associated with the intensity of information-seeking behaviors and, at the same time, predicted the degree of career exploration during the following 6-month period. However, despite this evidence about the significance of peer support during career exploration, the structure of career-related peer support remains unclear, and the mechanisms underlying its effect on the relationship between career-related peer support and career exploration need further examination.

Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy as a Mediator Career decision-making self-efficacy is a type of career self-efficacy (Guo &

Jiang, 2003), defined as the belief in and judgment of one’s ability to successfully perform specific tasks and engage in specific behaviors when making career decisions (Betz, Klein, & Taylor, 1996). Per social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), before and during one’s career exploration process, people who experience favorable conditions (e.g., presence of ample support, few barriers) are more likely to transform their interests into goals and their goals into career exploration behaviors (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 2002), which include developing interests, collecting career-related information, and thinking about one’s career goals. Accordingly, we speculated that receiving more peer support would promote engagement in career exploration.

In addition, career decision-making self-efficacy may play a mediating role in the relationship between contextual support and individual actions taken regarding career exploration. This contextual support may include perceived distal (background) and proximal sources. Distal contextual support helps shape self-efficacy, social cognitions, and interests, whereas proximal support influences the choice and exploration process (Lent et al., 2002), offering another

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perspective on the meaning of peer support. Thus, we proposed the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: Career-related peer support will be positively correlated with career exploration. Hypothesis 2: Career decision-making self-efficacy will mediate the link between career-related peer support and career exploration. Specifically, career-related peer support will influence career exploration both directly, by providing proximal support, and indirectly, by providing distal support through career decision-making self-efficacy.

The study model is depicted in Figure 1.

Career decision-making self-efficacy

Career exploration

Distal (background) contextual affordances

Proximal contextual influences

Peer support

indirectly directly

Figure 1. Our hypothesized model, which is based on social cognitive career theory.

Method

Participants and Procedure The sample was drawn from six public universities in the Shanghai area of

China, using convenience sampling. We recruited 650 junior and senior students only because freshmen and sophomores seldom participate in career exploration activities in China, and 562 valid responses were returned. The final sample of 319 women and 243 men, comprised 276 juniors and 286 seniors representing over 10 academic disciplines, such as education, tourism, information technology, management, nature sciences, and engineering.

Data collection was completed in April and May, 2014. The respondents completed a paper and pencil questionnaire during class. Their participation

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was voluntary and anonymous, and a small gift worth ¥5 (about US$0.70) was provided upon completion of the questionnaire.

Measures Career exploration. Career exploration was measured using the short version

of the Career Exploration Scale (CES; Xu, 2008), which was modified from the original CES developed by Stumpf, Colarelli, and Hartman (1983). The original CES is used to measure career-related beliefs about exploratory behavior, the exploration process, and reactions to exploration. In the modified version by Xu (2008), only those items relating to measurement of the exploration process were extracted, translated into Chinese, and applied.

Xu’s (2008) modified CES contains 18 items used to measure career exploration activities, including environment exploration (five items), self-exploration (five items), intended and systematic exploration (four items), and the amount of information obtained (four items) during the last 3 months. Sample items include “In the last 3 months, I have investigated various career possibilities” and “In the last 3 months, I have obtained information on specific jobs or companies.” Respondents use a 5-point Likert scale (1 = seldom, 5 = always) to indicate the frequency with which they have participated in the listed activities.

Researchers including Stumpf and colleagues (1983) and Cheung and Arnold (2014) have provided extensive evidence for the construct validity and reliability of the CES. Additionally, the internal consistency of the modified CES was reported by Xu (2008) to be .88, and the internal consistency of subscales ranged from .74 to .84. In the current research, the overall scale had an internal consistency of .93 and that of the subscales ranged from .81 to .86.

Career decision-making self-efficacy. Career decision-making self-efficacy was measured using a scale obtained from Peng and Long (2001), which was modified from the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale developed by Taylor and Betz (1983). The modified version has the same structure as the original one. The content and phrasing of some items were adapted based on interviews with Chinese senior college students and the results of exploratory factor analysis. The final version of the modified scale we used comprised 39 items measuring one’s belief in and judgment of his or her ability to successfully perform specific tasks when making career decisions. The scale comprises five subscales: self-as- sessment (six items), information gathering (nine items), goal determining (nine items), plan making (eight items), and problem solving (seven items). Sample items include “How much confidence you have in listing occupations that interest you” and “How much confidence you have in searching on occupations or positions that interest you.” Respondents rate on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = not confident at all, 5 = totally confident) their confidence in completing the listed activities.

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The overall internal consistency of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale was reported by Taylor and Betz (1983) to be .93, and the test–retest reliability was .83. Additionally, Peng and Long (2001) reported that the internal consistency of their revised version was .94, and the test–retest reliability was .66. In the current research, the overall scale had an internal consistency of .97 and that of the subscales ranged from .82 to .87.

Career-related peer support. Career-related peer support was measured with a 15-item scale (see Appendix) comprising three subscales assessing student perceptions of career information and suggestions provided by peers (seven items), emotional support (four items), and peer role models (four items). This scale was newly developed for use in the current research.

In the first step of scale construction, we developed a preliminary set of 51 items based on interviews with 17 junior and senior college students. In the second step, three experts—two with PhDs in psychology and one with a PhD in higher education—selected 32 items for further analysis by using the following criteria: the item had to reflect a specific form of career-related peer support, it had to be clearly formulated and relevant to the Chinese context, and it could not overlap with the remaining items. In the third step, the final structure of the scale was determined by conducting exploratory factor analysis using the principal axis factoring method with varimax rotation. Consequently, 15 items were retained.

However, differences emerged between the actual and hypothesized four-factor structure of the dimensions, such that the information exchange and career-related suggestions could not be separated clearly. For instance, it was difficult to differentiate between “Peers told me how to interview” (career-related suggestions) and “Peers told me how to prepare for the interview” (information exchange). Thus, these components were combined into one factor labeled career information and suggestions provided by peers. As a result, a three-factor structure, with the second and third factors being emotional support and peer role models, was applied. This structure accounted for 56% of the variance in career exploration; the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was .89 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (p < .05).

The overall scale had a good level of internal consistency of .89, and Cronbach’s alphas for the career information and suggestions, emotional support, and peer role models dimensions were .83, .72, and .76 respectively. In addition, an assessment of the scale’s test–retest reliability was conducted 2 weeks after initial administration. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between the two rounds of data (r = .64, p < .001). Paired samples t tests showed that pretest data (M = 38.88, SD = 7.62) were not significantly different from test–retest data obtained 2 weeks later (M = 37.37, SD = 6.45), t(30) = 0.57, p = .57, indicating acceptable stability of the scale. Furthermore, the results of confirmatory factor analysis showed the following fit indices: chi square (2)

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= 257.95, degrees of freedom (df) = 87, 2/df = 2.97, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .06, root mean square residual (RMR) = .03, comparative fit index (CFI) = .94, goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = .94, normed fit index (NFI) = .91, and nonnormed fit index (NNFI) = .92. According to Byrne (2001), an RMR value of .05 or less indicates a good fit; GFI, CFI, NFI, and NNFI values of .90 or greater indicate a good fit; and for RMSEA a value of .10 indicates a mediocre fit, between .08 and .05 indicates an acceptable fit, and under .05 shows a close approximation to the population. Therefore, the scale had good construct validity.

Data Analysis First, we calculated descriptive statistics and intercorrelations between the

study variables using SPSS 20.0. Then, to test the hypothesized mediating effect, we used AMOS 17.0 to conduct bootstrap sampling based on structural equation model (SEM) with maximum likelihood estimation. SEM was chosen because it expands the explanatory ability and statistical efficiency of model testing using a single, comprehensive method (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998).

Results

Descriptive Results and Correlations Table 1 shows the means, standard deviations, and correlations for the study

variables. Participants scored higher on career decision-making self-efficacy and career exploration compared to perceived career-related peer support. In terms of peer support, they obtained the lowest score on career information and suggestions, indicating that peers provided little information exchange or few suggestions on career development. In addition, the overall scale and the three factors of career-related peer support were correlated positively and significantly with career exploration, with coefficients ranging from .48 to .60. Thus, our first hypothesis was partially supported.

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics and Correlations

M (SD) 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Career information and suggestions 2.49 (0.55) 1

2. Emotional support 2.72 (0.58) .62*** 1 3. Peer role models 2.72 (0.61) .55*** .63*** 1 4. Career-related peer support 2.61 (0.49) .90*** .85*** .81*** 1 5. Career self-efficacy 3.28 (0.65) .41*** .44*** .51*** .52*** 1 6. Career exploration 3.28 (0.65) .48*** .50*** .57*** .60*** .77*** 1

Note. *** p < .001.

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EFFECT OF PEER SUPPORT ON CAREER EXPLORATION 493

Testing the Mediation Model We conducted SEM with career decision-making self-efficacy as the mediating

variable to investigate Hypothesis 2. The standardized path coefficients between the three factors of career-related peer support and career exploration are shown in Figure 2. The fit indices were 2 = 213.70, df = 51, 2/df = 4.19, RMSEA = .07, RMR = .01, GFI = .94, CFI = .97, NFI = .97, and NNFI = .96, indicating that the hypothesized model was acceptable.

The mediating effect was tested using the procedure proposed by Wen, Zhang, Hou, and Liu (2004). First, career information and suggestions, emotional support, and peer role models were all significantly correlated with career exploration, supporting the basic condition of a mediating effect. Second, the three factors of career-related peer support correlated significantly with career decision-making self-efficacy. Additionally, career decision-making self-efficacy correlated significantly with career exploration, suggesting that career decision- making self-efficacy had a mediating effect. Third, there were significant direct effects on career exploration of both career information and suggestions on career exploration, and peer role models, and the indirect effects of the three factors on career exploration through career decision-making self-efficacy supported a partial mediating effect of career decision-making self-efficacy on the two paths. In comparison, the direct effect of emotional support on career exploration was not significant, indicating that career decision-making self-efficacy fully mediated the relationship between emotional support and career exploration.

Discussion

We examined the effect of career-related peer support on career exploration and tested the mediating effect of career decision-making self-efficacy in this relationship. The results yielded several insights. First, career information and suggestions, emotional support, and peer role models were the three dominant factors of career-related peer support. Previous researchers have typically focused on one specific factor of career-related peer support. For instance, attachment to peers—which is similar to our emotional support factor—was emphasized by Felsman and Blustein (1999), and frequent talks with peers about career issues—which is similar to our career information and suggestions factor—was emphasized by Kracke (2002). The three-factor structure of the career-related peer support scale we identified provides an improved tool for more accurate measurement of this variable.

Second, the results show that career information and suggestions, emotional support, and peer role models correlated positively and significantly with career exploration, indicating that career-related peer support was beneficial for Chinese college students’ career exploration. The result is consistent with

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those obtained in previous studies conducted in an American cultural context. For instance, Kracke (2002) showed that frequent talks with peers promoted career information-seeking behaviors. Similarly, Khasawneh (2010) found that communication with peers could facilitate the career exploration process and even have an impact on making career development plans.

Third, we observed that career decision-making self-efficacy mediates the relationship between career-related peer support and career exploration. Additionally, we speculated that the information and suggestion, and peer role model, aspects of career-related peer support can be both distal and proximal. These aspects influence career exploration not only directly, but also indirectly through career decision-making self-efficacy. In comparison, emotional support from peers can be seen as distal only, influencing career exploration indirectly through career decision-making self-efficacy.

Our findings have several theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, as mentioned earlier, we have taken steps toward uncovering the structure of career-related peer support. Moreover, we identified one path influencing the relationship between career-related peer support and career exploration, with career-related peer support providing not only distal but also proximal support, further enhancing our interpretation of social cognitive career theory. In practice, although peers do not provide professional support like the counseling given by formal advisors, colleges with limited resources within the Chinese culture could utilize peer support programs as a flexible, low-cost, and convenient approach to promoting career exploration. For instance, students with similar career goals could set up a career development team to exchange career-related information, offer suggestions, encouragement, or mutual comfort. Meeting with successful graduates who are willing to share their career development experience would also be a useful approach.

Limitations and Directions for Future Research This study is subject to several limitations. First, we did not consider career

experiences prior to entering university; this could be addressed in future research. Second, our findings are based on a student sample from the Shanghai area, limiting the generalizability to student samples in different areas. Third, causal conclusions about our findings cannot be drawn due to the correlational nature of the study. Future researchers should adopt a more rigorous research design, such as longitudinal or experimental studies, to test the causal relationships. Furthermore, all variables were measured using self-report scales, which may have produced somewhat biased results. While it is not always possible to obtain objective indicators, future researchers may consider including an objective measure of career-related peer support to explore the support–career exploration link, which would expand and complement the current findings.

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Appendix Career-Related Peer Support Scale

Career information and suggestions My peers gave me suggestions on whether to pursue a further degree or to find a job. My peers told me how to prepare for a job interview. My peers gave me suggestions on which cities are most suitable for my career development. My peers suggested that I improve my job-related skills. My peers gave me information on job openings or certification examinations. My peers talked with me about the interpersonal skills needed to improve the workplace. My peers told me how to behave during a part-time job or internship.

Emotional support My peers comforted (or praised) me when I failed to pass (or successfully passed) a relevant

certificate examination. My peers listened to my stories about annoying experiences I had during my part-time job or

internship. My peers encouraged me and approved of my career development decision making. My peers comforted (or praised) me when I failed to pass (or successfully passed) a job

interview.

Peer role models I would take an internship seriously when I see that my peers behave well during their own

internships. I have identified and tried to address areas where I am weaker in comparison with peers. I would work harder to find an internship/job after watching my peers find one. I would work harder in a course that is useful for career development when I see that my

peers behave well in this course.

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