Keywords

altruism, scale development, counseling, counselor education, counselor identity, career choice

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe an appropriate protocol for developing a psychometrically sound instrument to assess perceived influences motivating graduate students to enter the counseling profession. The self-report, 124-item inventory was administered to a sample of 347 graduate students pursuing counseling as a profession. All participants responded to the inventory anonymously. A factor analysis from responses grouped scale items into six different factors, and helped condense the scale into a shorter, more psychometrically sound instrument by identifying those items with low or ambiguous factor loadings, suitable for removal. A factor analysis also identified those items most relevant for interpretation, ultimately yielding six major factors, operationalized by a variety of statements regarding various influences most consistent with students' decisions to pursue a career in the field of counseling. The literature review for this study proposes a model with four "hypotheses" of altruism upon which scale items were based. These theories identified possible motivating influences for prosocial behavior- further generalized to one's the decision to enter the helping-oriented career of counseling. This study may benefit the profession by adding to the research base on scale construction and career choice as well as offering a new inventory suitable for use with future research.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2008

Advisor

Sivo, Stephen

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Child, Family, and Community Sciences

Degree Program

Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002334

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002334

Language

English

Release Date

September 2008

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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