Author : Chad John Keller
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781109953046
Total Pages : 126 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (53 download)
Book Synopsis Career Indecision Between White American and Asian American Students: The Influence of Psychological Separation and Adult Attachment Orientation by : Chad John Keller
Download or read book Career Indecision Between White American and Asian American Students: The Influence of Psychological Separation and Adult Attachment Orientation written by Chad John Keller and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To varying degrees psychologists have emphasized the influence of interpersonal relationships on the career decision making process, including parental psychological separation and attachment orientation. Models of the career development process, psychological separation and attachment orientation have been criticized as being based on Western, masculine values, which have been applied to women and racial minorities without appropriate consideration of cultural factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate career indecision from a relational and cross-cultural perspective by examining the role of parental psychological separation and attachment orientation in influencing the level of career indecision between White and Asian American undergraduate students. Based on the literature, four hypotheses and two research questions were examined using data completed by 302 White and Asian American undergraduates. Hypothesis one was only partially supported as White Americans demonstrated greater levels of maternal conflictual independence (a dimension of psychological separation) compared to Asia Americans; no cultural differences on ratings of paternal conflictual independence were found. Findings offered no support for hypothesis two predicting cultural and sex differences on rating of attachment anxiety and avoidance. Hypothesis three was partially supported as levels of career indecision within cultural groups were similar for men and women; however, counter to predictions, White Americans and Asian Americans showed similar levels of career decidedness. Partial support was also offered for hypothesis four as low levels of career indecision for White Americans were predicted by high levels of maternal conflictual independence; however, paternal conflictual independence and adult attachment avoidance and anxiety failed to account for significant unique variance. The findings of research question one suggested that for Asian Americans lower levels of career indecision were predicted by high levels of maternal conflictual independence and low levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance. The second research question examining potential cultural and sex differences in the prediction of career indecision indicated no significant differences between and within cultural and sex groups. These findings and their relation to the current literature were discussed, as were the limitations of the study, directions for future research and the implications for the practice of counseling psychology.