The purpose of this study was to measure the relationship between family environmental dynamics and the career decision-making self-efficacy of a homogenous sample of African-American college freshmen. The available population was 320 African-American college freshmen attending a historically Black university in the state of North Carolina. Specific demographic, attitudinal and behavioral variables related to the population of interest were analyzed.
Over all results from the multiple regression models including sample mean estimates, standard error estimates and t-tests indicated that there was a positive linear relationship between African-American college freshmen perceptions of their family environments and their increased career decision-making self-efficacy.
Through the use of multiple polynomial regression analyses, the dependent variables (the five domains of the CDMSE-SF) were analyzed in relations to the independent variables (Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale II) and demographic variables. Partial support was indicated in that positive associations were found between scores on family adaptability measures and scores on the domains of problem solving and occupational information. Partial support was also indicated on the positive associations found between family cohesion measures and the domains of problem solving, planning for the future, self-appraisal and occupational information. Only one domain, goal selection indicated no effect for either family adaptability or family cohesion. On Goal selection, only the independent demographic variables decidedness or indecision on a college major had effect on the mean.
The data results suggested that there is a positive correlation between students' perceptions of positive family variables of family adaptability and family cohesion and increased career decision-making self-efficacy. Additionally, the overall results support the hypothesized links between supportive or non-supportive family environments and their impact on successful or less than successful negotiations of career development and career behaviors.
The results of this initial investigation should be replicated with a larger non-college bound African-American population and the present results can only be generalized to the population used as a sample.