Heather Z. Lyons

Social Cognitive Predictors of Academic Interests and Goals in Engineering: Utility for Women and Students at Historically Black Universities.

This study examined the utility of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) in predicting engineering interests and major choice goals among women and men and among students at historically Black and predominantly White universities. Participants (487 students in introductory engineering courses at 3 universities) completed measures of academic interests, goals, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and environmental supports and barriers in relation to engineering majors. Findings indicated that the SCCT-based model of interest and choice goals produced good fit to the data across gender and university type. Implications for future research on SCCTs choice hypotheses, and particularly for the role of environmental supports and barriers in the choice of science and engineering fields, are discussed.

Relation of Contextual Supports and Barriers to Choice Behavior in Engineering Majors: Test of Alternative Social Cognitive Models.

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. w. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) and general social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1999, 2000) posit somewhat different relations between contextual variables and choice actions. The authors tested the predictions of these 2 model variations. Participants (328 students in an introductory engineering course) completed measures of SCCTs person (self-efficacy, coping efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, academic goals) and contextual variables (environmental supports and barriers) related to the pursuit of engineering majors. Findings indicated good support for a model portraying contextual supports and barriers as linked to choice goals and actions (i.e., persistence in engineering) indirectly, through self-efficacy, rather than directly, as posited by SCCT. Implications for future research on SCCTs choice and environmental hypotheses are discussed.

A Multicultural Test of the Theory of Work Adjustment: Investigating the Role of Heterosexism and Fit Perceptions in the Job Satisfaction of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Employees.

Two expanded models (i.e., mediated and moderated) of the theory of work adjustment (TWA; R. V. Dawis, G. England, & L. H. Lofquist, 1964; R. V. Dawis & L. H. Lofquist, 1984) were tested for their capacity to explain the job satisfaction of a sample of lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees (N 397). Consistent with cultural critiques of the TWA, person–organization fit perceptions were tested as the mediator of the relationship between heterosexism and job satisfaction in one set of hypotheses, and experiences with informal heterosexism were tested as a moderator in the relationship between person– organization fit perceptions and job satisfaction in a separate set of hypotheses. The mediated model but not the moderated model was supported. Results were confirmed by a cross-validation sample.

Advisor-Advisee Relationships in Graduate Training Programs

Advisor—advisee relationships are an important aspect of the career development of professionals in many fields; however, limited scholarship has focused on these relationships. In the three articles of this special section, the authors attempt to help remedy this situation by articulating a culturally infused model of advising relationships in graduate training. This article lays the foundation for the authors’ model by reviewing the literature relevant to advising and mentoring. In the subsequent articles, the authors propose that it is critical to understand how within-group cultural variables affect the advising relationship. Articulating a framework for understanding the advising relationship as a multicultural endeavor may help educators prepare the next generations of professionals and facilitate increased empirical attention to this important, yet underexamined construct.

Multicultural Issues in Graduate Advising Relationships

Although advisor—advisee relationships are ubiquitous to graduate training, there is relatively little scholarship bearing on advising relationships. Not surprisingly, the intersection between multiculturalism and advising relationships is also sparse. Given the potential increase in the numbers of People of Color entering graduate training due to the changing demographics in the United States and the influence of advising relationships on advisees’ personal and professional development, it is imperative to address the role of culture in the advising relationship—in this article, we will address race, sex, and sexual orientation. Hence, in this article, we address the potential impact of racial and cultural socialization processes on the advising relationship and organizational contexts.

Patterns of Career and Identity Interference for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Young Adults

Researchers have hypothesized about the potentially competing demands of sexual identity development and career development (e.g., Chen, Stracuzzi, & Ruckdeschel, 2004; Fassinger, 1996; Morrow, 1997; Schmidt, 2004). In the present study, we explored these hypotheses focusing specifically on career decision making. Using cluster analysis, we identified three groups of lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults who differed in terms of the conflict experienced between sexual identity and career development: career conflict group (n = 11), sexual identity conflict group (n = 45), and those who experienced low levels of conflict between the two domains (n = 71). Differences were found between the clusters in levels of career decision making supports, career decision making barriers, and career decision making self-efficacy. Results tentatively suggest the importance of considering within-group differences when using Social Cognitive Career Theory to understand the career decision making of this population.

A Multiculturally Infused Model of Graduate Advising Relationships

In this final article of the special section, the authors offer their beginning theoretical model of graduate advising relationships. The authors’ framework characterizes the advising relationship as a multicultural endeavor. The authors offer eight theoretical propositions with the intent to articulate aspects of good advising and those variables that appear to be related to successful advising relationships. As part of this model, the authors attend to both the process and the outcome of advising relationships. The authors close with implications for research, training, and practice, and offer suggestions for future research.

Perceptions of Self-Disclosing Counselors Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals

The present study tested the effect of counselor self-disclosure on lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals’ perceptions of counselor expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. A national sample of 275 lesbian, gay, and bisexual university students was recruited for an online survey. Participants were randomly assigned to read a written vignette with varying levels of counselor self-disclosure. According to an a priori comparison test, lesbian, gay, and bisexual participants who received professional and personal background disclosure rated the counselor as significantly more expert, trustworthy, and attractive than participants who received professional background disclosure alone. An overall main effect for therapist self-disclosure was also revealed by multivariate analysis of variance. These findings were consistent with the studys hypotheses and previous research in the area of counselor self-disclosure. Practice implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Tests of the theory of work adjustment with economically distressed African Americans.

The present study tested 2 competing, extended models of the theory of work adjustment (TWA) with a sample of 100 economically distressed working African Americans receiving services at a nonprofit community center. Model 1 depicted a mediated model consistent with postulations of the TWAs original theorists. Model 2 depicted a moderated mediation model consistent with cultural critiques of the TWA. Bivariate correlations indicated that perceptions of person-organization (P-O) fit were positively related to job satisfaction and negatively related to turnover intentions, and job satisfaction was negatively related to turnover intentions. Furthermore, perceptions of racial climate were positively related to perceptions of P-O fit and job satisfaction and negatively related to turnover intentions. Moreover, results of the path analyses indicated stronger support for Model 2, the moderated mediation model, in which the indirect link of P-O fit with turnover intentions through job satisfaction was conditional on levels of racial climate. Specifically, when racial climate was perceived as less supportive, the indirect link of P-O fit with turnover intentions was nonsignificant, but when employees reported moderate and more supportive levels of racial climates, this indirect relation was significant. Research and career counseling implications of the present studys findings for financially distressed African American employees are discussed.