The Relationship Among Support, Ethnic Identity, Career Decision Self-Efficacy, and Outcome Expectations in African American High School Students

This study examines the influence of two potential sources of strength (i.e., ethnic identity and parent/teacher support) on the cognitive variables of career decision self-efficacy and outcome expectations in a sample of 104 African American ninth-grade students. The results indicate that parental support is positively related to career decision self-efficacy and teacher support is positively related to career decision self-efficacy and career outcome expectations. No relationship is found between ethnic identity and either self-efficacy or outcome expectations. The findings confirm the importance of considering contextual supports in career counseling and education. Limitations, implications for counseling, and suggestions for future research are discussed.