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Occupational Engagement and Academic Major Satisfaction: Vocational Identity's Mediating Role
Author(s) -
Cox Daniel W.,
Bjornsen Abby L.,
Krieshok Thomas S.,
Liu Yan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the career development quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.846
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 2161-0045
pISSN - 0889-4019
DOI - 10.1002/cdq.12049
Subject(s) - vocational education , psychology , identity (music) , social psychology , intervention (counseling) , pedagogy , physics , psychiatry , acoustics
This study examined vocational identity as a mediator of the relationship between occupational engagement (i.e., participation in a breadth of activities and interactions) and academic major satisfaction. Furthermore, the authors evaluated whether satisfaction with academic major related to academic success (i.e., grade point average). The mediational model was tested in a sample of undergraduate students ( N = 215). Results indicated that occupational engagement significantly predicted academic major satisfaction and that vocational identity fully mediated that relationship. These findings support occupational engagement as an important contributor to adaptive career decision making and encourage research on occupational engagement as an intervention point for career counselors.