Development and Validation of the Career Ego State Scale for Adults

The purpose of this study is to develop a career ego state scale based on transactional analysis theory and to verify its validity. To achieve this, the study reviewed literature related to ego states and analyzed previous studies and scales. Based on the ego state functional analysis model, the study conducted in-depth interviews with a group of experts to establish a framework for the components of the career ego state and drafted 147 initial items. Subsequently, through open-ended survey evaluations targeting transactional analysis counseling experts, the study developed a preliminary scale consisting of 108 items. This preliminary survey was administered to 221 adults from the P region in Korea. Through descriptive statistics, unidimensionality review, and exploratory factor analysis, the study selected 86 items that adequately reflected the components of the career ego state. The main survey was conducted with 1,148 Koreans aged 18 and older, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed using the collected data. The study found that the career ego state scale was developed with 47 items across five positive function factors and 39 items across four negative function factors. The reliability of the career ego state scale, as confirmed by Cronbach's alpha, indicated that the reliability range of the sub-factors of the career ego state was appropriate, ranging from .791 to .903. Based on these results, the significance and limitations of the development of the career ego state scale, as well as directions for future research, were discussed.