Effects of Career Counseling on French Adults: An Experimental Study

This research project is focused on theoretical and empirical works analyzing the effects of career counseling. This experimental and longitudinal study has been carried out in France; it compares a sample of individuals having undertaken competence assessment with a control group and deals with self-esteem, self-analysis, self-concept, and the participants' situations. The results correspond to the authors' main hypotheses: The effect size calculated for all the variables (+0.62) is similar to the one observed in the meta-analyses concerning the same topic. The stability of effects has also been demonstrated for 2 out of 3 categories of variables (effect size +0.44) in spite of a slight decrease in the production of self-concept. Finally, treatment intensity seems to have a lesser effect than the one expected, but it strengthens its role in the development of self-analysis. The discussion focuses on the prospects for counseling practice assessment, as well as theoretical directions meriting future development. (Contains 4 tables.)