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This study aimed to develop an empirical taxonomy of the specific multicultural training components perceived as helpful by counseling students in their development of multicultural competence. Participants included 19 counseling trainees from a master's level clinical mental health counseling program at a university located in Midwestern America. All participating trainees responded to an anonymous critical incident (CI) course survey at mid-semester and semester-end. A total of 170 CIs were identified, and an empirical taxonomy of the CIs was generated using Latent Semantic Analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. The taxonomy system consisted of 3 superordinate Level-1 clusters (Class Format, Cognitive Aspect, and Experiential Process), which were further broken down into 6 intermediate-level CI clusters and 28 basic-level CI clusters. These findings helped us better understand counseling students' learning experiences and what has been helpful for developing multicultural competence in a multicultural counseling class. Chi-Square analyses found no significant differences of occurrence for each general theme of CIs across mid-semester or semester-end, which indicated that Class Format, Cognitive Aspect, and Experiential Process appeared to be equally helpful for students in developing their multicultural competence throughout the semester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High levels of poverty and unemployment are pervasive barriers to Nigerian emerging adults entering the job market. The current study employed the Psychology of Working Theory to explore career engagement, academic satisfaction, and life satisfaction predictors in a nation experiencing the intersections of high poverty and high unemployment rate. We tested a model predicting these outcomes from economic constraints and marginalization mediated by work volition, career adaptability, and perceptions of future decent work. We administered online surveys to 310 undergraduates in Nigeria. Career adaptability and work volition predicted the perception of future access to decent work. Also, those who reported higher chances of securing decent work after graduation reported greater academic and life satisfaction and career engagement. While economic constraints predicted career adaptability in this model, marginalization did not predict career adaptability. In contrast with previous studies, economic constraints, and marginalization were not predictive of work volition or future decent work perception. We also found a positive relationship between economic challenges and career adaptability against the propositions of the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT). The implications of our findings were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to describe the development of a new intervention for jobseekers and to assess its efficacy using a naturalistic, pre-post intervention design. In contrast to existing work-based interventions, the Work Intervention Network (WIN) intervention targets multiple intersecting domains through four modules and via six group sessions: deepening and sustaining relationships; fostering social awareness and reducing self-blame; building emotional resilience and self-care; and planning, exploring, and engaging in the job search. To evaluate the intervention, we first recruited a sample of 33 jobseekers to provide feedback on the program. Integrating their feedback into the design of the program, we then recruited a sample of 108 jobseekers who filled out surveys before and after the six-session intervention, which assessed work and mental health functioning across the four domains. Results revealed that participants were highly satisfied with the intervention and reported large increases in social support, belonging, psychological well-being, job search engagement, and work hope as well as decreases in isolation and self-blame. This study provides strong support for the WIN intervention and has implications for how to support jobseekers in an increasingly precarious labor environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has suggested there is an important distinction between perceiving a calling and living a calling. With a sample of 542 working adults, the current study examined (a) the degree to which perceiving a calling and living a calling differed according to yearly income and level of educational attainment and (b) potential mediators that may explain the link between perceiving a calling and living a calling. Adults with higher yearly incomes and more education were significantly more likely to endorse living a calling, but no significant group differences were found for perceiving a calling. Additionally, using structural equation modeling, work volition was found to be a significant mediator in the link between perceiving a calling and living a calling, and organizational support was found to be a significant mediator in the link between work volition and living a calling. The strength and significance of these indirect effects were supported by bootstrapping techniques. We suggest that part of the reason people with a calling feel more able to live out that calling is because of increased feelings of control in their career decision making. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

The aim of the current study was to examine whether the key constructs targeted in the Work Intervention Network (WIN) intervention uniquely predicted well-being outcomes and mediated relations between un/underemployment and these outcomes. Using data from a sample of 462 adults in the U.S., we positioned employment status as a predictor of life satisfaction, well-being, and psychological distress. We also tested four mediators of these relations that operationalized targets in the WIN intervention – career engagement, social support, self-care, and self-blame. Employment status indirectly predicted life satisfaction, life meaning, and psychological distress via self-care and self-blame. Career engagement mediated the relation between employment status and psychological distress but in an unexpected direction. Social support was not directly predicted by employment status but predicted life satisfaction and life meaning. Results provided initial support for the WIN intervention and corroborate the contention that employment status is an important predictor of well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the relation of career calling to life satisfaction among a diverse sample of 553 working adults, with a specific focus on the distinction between perceiving a calling (sensing a calling to a career) and living a calling (actualizing one's calling in one's current career). As hypothesized, the relation of perceiving a calling to life satisfaction was fully mediated by living a calling. On the basis of this finding, a structural equation model was tested to examine possible mediators between living a calling and life satisfaction. As hypothesized, the relation of living a calling to life satisfaction was partially mediated by job satisfaction and life meaning, and the link between living a calling and job satisfaction was mediated by work meaning and career commitment. Modifications of the model also revealed that the link of living a calling to life meaning was mediated by work meaning. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

With a growing Latinx workforce in the U.S., many of whom are Spanish-speaking, there is a pressing need to examine key constructs related to vocational well-being in this population. The aim of the current study was to validate a Spanish language version of the Work Needs Satisfaction Scales (WNSS; Autin et al., 2019). The WNSS comprises a set of scales developed to measure satisfaction of survival, social contribution, autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs, all of which are theorized to be key mediators in the link from decent work to well-being and work fulfillment. Using cross-sectional data across two samples of Latinx workers, we tested the reliability and validity of a Spanish language version of the WNSS (WNSS-SV). In Study 1 we conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with a sample of 195 participants. This resulted in a 19-item scale with five factors mirroring those of the English language scale. In Study 2 (N = 377), we examined factor structure and model fit using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); measurement invariance across gender, language, and social class group; and concurrent validity. Results from Study 2 demonstrated the model was a good fit to the data; showed concurrent validity; and provided support for measurement invariance. Thus, overall results indicated that the WNSS-SV may serve as a useful tool for future research on work-related need satisfaction among Latinx workers. A discussion regarding the importance of these findings and implications for practice and research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the proportion of immigrant workers in the United States grows, understanding how contextual constraints restrict immigrant workers from securing decent work is critical. Therefore, drawing from psychology of working theory (PWT), this study examined relations from contextual barriers (economic constraints and acculturative stress) to psychological mechanisms (work volition and career adaptability) to decent work with a sample of immigrant workers in the United States. We also conducted multigroup analysis to explore whether the model varied depending on race. Diverging from previous PWT studies, we found that economic constraints directly predicted decent work and that career adaptability predicted both acculturative stress and decent work. Importantly, multigroup analysis found the relations from career adaptability and work volition to decent work were stronger for the white group than the POC group. Our findings encourage psychologists to advocate for working immigrants, including working immigrants of color, to reduce marginalization and economic constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese-language version of the Decent Work Scale (Duffy et al., 2017). An exploratory factor analysis was conducted with a randomly selected proportion of the sample (n = 291) and resulted in five factors: safe conditions, access to healthcare, adequate compensation, time and rest and values match between organizations and communities. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed with the remaining sample (n = 390). We examined factor structure, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. We also tested invariance across gender and work sector groups. Results demonstrated that the bifactor structure of the English version scale was a good fit to the data. Evidence supported convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the scale. The bi-factorial structure did not differ across gender and work sectors. Results suggest the scale is an appropriate measure of decent work among Chinese workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined critical consciousness in a sample of 476 adults of color from a Psychology of Working perspective. Using structural equation modeling, we tested three components of critical consciousness—perceived inequality, egalitarian beliefs, and sociopolitical participation—as moderators of relations between marginalization, economic constraints, work volition, career adaptability, and decent work. As hypothesized, perceived inequality and sociopolitical participation moderated paths from marginalization to career adaptability, work volition, and decent work. Perceived inequality moderated paths from economic constraints to career adaptability and decent work, but in inconsistent directions. We discuss practical implications and future research directions. Our results contribute to the growing support for the Psychology of Working Theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated relations between basic psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, relatedness, and competence), autonomous motivation, and work meaning. With a sample of 462 working adults, we used structural equation modeling to test the incremental validity of including autonomous motivation in a model predicting meaningful work from basic psychological need satisfaction. The satisfaction of autonomy and relatedness needs directly predicted autonomous motivation, while competence need satisfaction directly predicted meaningful work. Mediation analyses supported the incremental contribution of autonomous motivation in the links from autonomy and relatedness to work meaning, but not from competence to work meaning. Our findings provide novel connections between the bodies of literature on Self-Determination Theory and meaningful work. We discuss practical implications for career counselors, organizational leaders, and policymakers, as well as future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from Psychology of Working Theory (PWT), the current study sampled 254 college students from impoverished families in China and examined their perceptions of access to future decent work as predicted by subjective social status and marginalization and mediated by work volition and career adaptability. As impoverished college students are socioeconomically disadvantaged and thus cannot afford college expenses, understanding their perception regarding future careers echoes the call for renewing the focus on equity and diversity within vocational psychology. Findings supported subjective social status as an indirect predictor of perceptions of future decent work via work volition. Work volition and career adaptability directly predicted perceptions of future decent work. Additionally, there is a significant conditional indirect effect between subjective social status, work volition, and perceptions of future decent work. Specifically, the effect was only significant for first-year students. Overall, this study adds new evidence on the applicability of the PWT among student populations. Implications for career researchers, vocational counselors, and student affairs professionals are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]