Received 11/15/14

Revised 04/10/15
Accepted 05/01/15
DOI: 10.1002/cdq.12069

Impact of Dysfunctional Career

Thoughts on Career Decision
Self-Efficacy and Vocational Identity
Hang Jo, Young-An Ra, Juyoung Lee,
and Won Ho Kim
This study examined the mediating role of dysfunctional career thoughts in the
relationship between career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) and vocational identity
(VI). For this purpose, the data were collected from 446 Korean college students.
The authors used the Hayes (2013) PROCESS tool to analyze the data. The results
showed that CDSE positively correlated with VI, whereas all 3 types of dysfunctional
career thoughts negatively correlated with CDSE and VI. The results also indicated
that all 3 subscales of dysfunctional career thoughts partially mediate the association
between CDSE and VI. We provide implications and limitations of the findings.

Keywords: dysfunctional career thoughts, career decision self-efficacy, vocational

identity, Korean college students

When determining a career path, most people typically face an immense

challenge (Zunker, 2012). The stress of such decisions becomes particularly
acute during the college years, when students must choose their major and,
later on, their first real-world employment, both of which are instances
that can dramatically influence future career paths and lives. Concerning
the process of making successful career decisions, career theorists have
drawn attention to the need for the development of vocational identities
(VIs; Super, 1980), because the determination of an effective career path
requires an individual’s robust VI (Holland, Gottfredson, & Power, 1980).
The crystallization of a clear VI is a vital task (Super, Savickas, & Super,
1996) and provides a foundation for making optimal career decisions.
However, South Korean college students tend to fail in developing
stable VIs during adolescence. These identity diffusions often trigger
numerous difficulties in the process of making career decisions (J. C.
Lee & Choi, 2006). Ahn and Ahn (2005), for instance, pointed out
that approximately 70% of South Korean college students chose majors
that are incongruent with their vocational interests. As researchers
have found, this gap between VI and career decision making relates
to contextual factors. First, the trend to emphasize achievement in
secondary education prevents adolescent students from having enough
opportunities to explore multiple career options. Many Korean parents

Hang Jo, Department of Child, Family, and Community Sciences, University of

Central Florida; Young-An Ra, School of Counseling Psychology & Social Welfare,
Handong Global University, Pohang, South Korea; Juyoung Lee, Department of Coun-
seling, Honam University, Gwangju, South Korea; and Won Ho Kim, Employment
Development Institute, Seongnam-shi, Kyoungki-do, South Korea. Correspondence
concerning this article should be addressed to Won Ho Kim, Employment Develop-
ment Institute, 463-939, 165 Gumi-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-shi, Kyoungki-do,
South Korea (e-mail: wvk5054@gmail.com).
© 2016 by the National Career Development Association. All rights reserved.

The Career Development Quarterly DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 64 333

understand education as a gateway to financial success, and, when
pursuing employment, their children gravitate toward those careers that
offer the highest pay (Lankard, 1995). The parents tend to determine
their children’s future employment, making decisions based not on their
children’s desires or goals, but on their own criteria (Chen, 1999).
Additionally, the lack of a career guidance system in secondary schools
further hinders the development of VIs (E. J. Kim, 2001). According to
the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (2013),
only 50% of secondary schools in South Korea employed career-related
professionals, and most schools did not provide regular and formal career
education for their students. S. L. Kim and Lee (2007) noted that more
than half of Korean adolescents greatly limit their vocational perspectives
by considering only a miniscule segment of the more than 10,000 possible
vocations; this implies that the students do not have access to the sorts of
information that would expand their vocational horizons.
Besides external variables, such as culture and education systems,
some researchers have focused on the internal variables that influence
the development of VI among South Korean college students (M. Jeong
& Noh, 2008; H. J. Lee, 2008; Lim, Song, & Lee, 2011; Shin & Kelly,
2013; Yang & Lea, 2012). H. J. Lee (2008), for example, revealed that
social anxiety, decision-making barriers, and career preparation behavior
closely related with the construction of VI. Additionally, Shin and Kelly
(2013) examined the developmental effects of familial relationships and
optimism on VI development.
Even with these studies, however, more research into the concretiza-
tion of VI is urgently needed, particularly work that examines which
factors boost or impede the development of VIs among South Korean
college students. The present study, therefore, focused on two indi-
vidual, cognitive factors—career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) and career
thoughts—to investigate their influence on VI. In doing so, our study
considered CDSE as an independent variable and career thoughts as a
mediator between the self-efficacy and VI.

CDSE
By applying the concept of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977, 1997) to un-
derstanding human career development, social cognitive career theory
(SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 2002) highlights self-efficacy as a
central component in predicting individuals’ career interests, goals,
choices, and performances. SCCT understands self-efficacy as central
in the creation of vocational interests (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994;
Lent et al., 2002).
Previous studies (e.g., Gushue, Scanlan, Pantzer, & Clarke, 2006;
Lim et al., 2011; Stringer & Kerpelman, 2010) have revealed the
significant and positive connection between CDSE and VI. Stringer
and Kerpelman (2010), for example, pointed out the significant as-
sociation between CDSE and career identity for students attending
4-year colleges, and Scott and Ciani (2008) noted a similar pattern
for the broad population of undergraduates. In the Korean context,
Lim et al. (2011) noted that CDSE was positively and significantly
associated with the VI of Korean college students, and K. H. Lee and
Lee (2000) found similar results.

334 The Career Development Quarterly DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 64

Dysfunctional Career Thoughts
Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, and Saunders (1996a) suggested that
thoughts associated with career issues would have an impact on career de-
cisions and argued for the major impact of negative thinking. This could
imply that negative or dysfunctional career thoughts would interrupt both
the decision-making process and the development of VI. In several studies
(e.g., Dipeolu, Sniatecki, Storlie, & Hargrave, 2013; J. C. Lee & Choi, 2006;
Yanchak, Lease, & Strauser, 2005), researchers discovered a negative link
between dysfunctional career thoughts and VI. For instance, according to
Yanchak et al. (2005), career thoughts accounted for 32.6% of VI, whereas
demographic factors only contributed 6.4% to the variance explained.
Korean researchers (D. H. Lee, 2011; J. C. Lee & Choi, 2006) also
emphasized the relationship between college students’ negative career
thoughts and their VIs. D. H. Lee (2011) indicated that VI and dysfunc-
tional career thoughts closely interrelated and that they both fully mediated
the relationship between college students’ career barriers and their levels
of career decision. J. C. Lee and Choi (2006) also discovered negative
correlations between the ego-identity and dysfunctional career thoughts.
Regarding the relationship between dysfunctional career thoughts and
CDSE, empirical studies (Austin & Cilliers, 2011; Grier-Reed, Appleton,
Rodriguez, Ganuza, & Reschly, 2012; Grier-Reed, Skaar, & Conkel-
Ziebell, 2009) have shown that the two concepts relate significantly and
negatively. Grier-Reed et al. (2012) discovered a negative relationship
between dysfunctional career thoughts and CDSE. Austin and Cilliers
(2011) also reported that career thinking, especially negative career
thoughts, were significantly associated with CDSE and locus of control.

Purpose of the Study

As the reviewed literature has shown, CDSE positively relates to VI, whereas
dysfunctional career thoughts negatively relate to VI. As of yet, however, no
studies have explored the combined impact that CDSE and dysfunctional
career thoughts have on the creation of VI. The present study thus examined
such an impact and specifically focused on South Korean college students.
Drawing on previous research, our working hypothesis was as follows:
dysfunctional career thoughts mediate the effect that CDSE has on VI. To
examine this hypothesis more thoroughly, the present study attempted to
answer two central research questions: “What are the relationships between
CDSE, the three types of dysfunctional career thoughts, and VI?” and
“To what extent does a specific type of dysfunctional career thought (i.e.,
decision-making confusion [DMC], commitment anxiety [CA], or external
conflict [EC]) mediate the effects of CDSE on VI?”

Method
Participants
We used a convenience sampling method to draw a sample of undergraduate
students from South Korean 4-year colleges (N = 446). The participants
were collected through liberal art courses offered at the educational
institutions. Such courses provided participants with diverse ages and
majors, allowing the study to make broader findings and generalizations.

The Career Development Quarterly DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 64 335

The study sample consisted of men (63.5%, n = 283) and women (36.5%,
n = 163) with an average age of 21.89 years (age range = 18–33 years,
SD = 2.56). Participants identified their majors as education (33.2%, n =
148), humanities (18.2%, n = 81), social science (11.4%, n = 51), science
(18.2%, n = 81), engineering (14.8%, n = 66), and other (4.2%, n = 19).

Measures
CDSE–Short Form. The present study used the CDSE–Short Form (CDSE-
SF; Betz, Klein, & Taylor, 1996), a compressed version of the original
(Taylor & Betz, 1983), to measure participants’ CDSE. The CDSE-SF
employs a scale of 25 items assessed using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Within
the CDSE-SF there are also five subscales: Self-Appraisal, Occupational
Information, Goal Selection, Planning, and Problem Solving. Our study
used the Korean-version CDSE-SF items translated and validated by K. H.
Lee & Lee (2000). The coefficient alpha method estimated the internal
consistency of the CDSE-SF for 370 Korean college students, providing
an estimated coefficient of .92 (K. H. Lee & Lee, 2000). The reliability of
CDSE-SF for our study was .92.
Career Thoughts Inventory. We used the Career Thoughts Inventory
(CTI; Sampson et al., 1996a) to measure dysfunctional thoughts that may
impede college students’ career problem solving. The CTI measures 48
items using a 4-point Likert-type scale. A higher score implies a greater
number of negative thoughts. The CTI also uses a set of three subscales:
DMC, CA, and EC. The DMC subscale (14 items) assesses a person’s
dysfunctional thoughts that hinder the commencement of the decision-
making process. The CA subscale (10 items) gauges the degree to which
anxiety-related thoughts may interrupt decision making. The EC subscale
(5 items) also measures how inputs of significant others affect a person’s
career development. Our study used only 29 items translated in Korean,
validated, and standardized by J. C. Lee, Choi, and Park (2003) to mea-
sure these three subscales. The alpha coefficients of the sample’s three
subscales ranged between .68 and .89 (J. C. Lee et al., 2003). Cronbach’s
alphas in our study were between .75 and .92.
My Vocational Situation. We used the VI subscale of My Vocational Situ-
ation (Holland et al., 1980) to measure the degree of stability presented
in college students’ career goals, vocational strengths, and interests. The
VI subscale contains 18 statements that require a response of either true
or false. A higher score indicates a stronger VI. Previous researchers have
shown the Kuder–Richardson Formula 20 reliability of the VI subscale to
be between .86 and .89 in samples of adolescents and young adults (Hol-
land et al., 1980). Our study used the 18 items of the Korean-version VI
subscale that was translated and validated by B. W. Kim and Kim (1997).
Although B. W. Kim and Kim’s study reported an internal consistency
coefficient of VI of .89, the present study showed a coefficient of .87.

Procedure
The first author contacted instructors teaching liberal arts courses who
then recruited among their students. Each of the students received
consent information about the research at the beginning of class. Partici-
pants voluntarily completed a packet of paper-and-pencil survey forms,
including a demographic questionnaire and all measures.

336 The Career Development Quarterly DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 64

 Data Analysis
From the original data set, we first examined the missing value mecha-
nism to determine how precisely to handle the missing data. We found
less than 10% of the missing values for each or all of the variables and
thus used listwise deletion. We conducted our data analysis using three
steps: (a) preliminary data analyses, including a normality test of each
variable and a multicollinearity check; (b) descriptive analysis and mul-
tiple correlation analysis; and (c) mediator analysis.
Following Tabachnick and Fidell (1996), our normality test results
showed the data to be suitable for further analysis. To check the multicol-
linearity issue, the tolerance values were .70 for CDSE, .36 for DMC, .46
for CA, and .58 for EC. According to Menard (2002), a tolerance value
of less than .10 almost certainly indicates a serious collinearity problem.
Myers (1990) also suggested that a variance inflation factor (VIF) value
greater than 10 can be a cause for concern. Our data showed VIF values
of 1.44 for CDSE, 2.80 for DMC, 2.17 for CA, and 1.73 for EC, indi-
cating that we did not have any collinearity issues among these variables.
We analyzed the means and standard deviations for each variable (i.e.,
CDSE, DMC, CA, EC, VI) and then obtained the Pearson product–mo-
ment correlation coefficients.
To examine the mediating effect of the three dysfunctional career
thoughts (DMC, CA, EC) on the relationship between the independent
variable (CDSE) and the dependent variable (VI), we used the Hayes
(2013) PROCESS tool. The combined effects of the regression predictor
on the mediator and regression mediator on the outcome results in the
estimation of the indirect effect. Next, we tested the significant level
of the indirect effect by computing confidence intervals (CIs) for the
indirect effect using bootstrap methods and then checked effect size by κ2.

Results
First, we checked the hypothesis of the mediating role for each dysfunc-
tional career thought through a correlation mechanism. The correlation
between CDSE and VI (r = .56) was significantly positive. However,
the other correlation coefficients showed significantly negative associa-
tions: between CDSE and DMC (r = –.53); between DMC and VI (r
= –.60); between CDSE and CA (r = –.49); between CA and VI (r =
–.68); between CDSE and EC (r = –.35); and, finally, between EC and
VI (r = –.40). The correlation, therefore, between CDSE and subscales
of dysfunctional thinking and the correlation between subscales and VI
implied that dysfunctional thinking might function as a mediator. Table
1 shows that all coefficients are statistically significant (p < .01).
To test the mediating effects of each variable (DMC, CA, and EC), we
employed the Hayes (2013) PROCESS tool. We first analyzed the total
effect of CDSE on VI (outcome), that is, the effect of the predictor on
the outcome when the mediator is not present in the model. When the
relationship of DMC, CA, or EC was not in the model, CDSE alone
significantly predicted VI (b = 4.94, t = 14.28, p < .001). The R2 value
showed that the model explained 31.6% of the variance in VI.
We then analyzed the mediator effect of DMC between CDSE and
VI, and the results showed that CDSE predicted DMC (Path A1 in

The Career Development Quarterly DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 64 337

 TABLE 1
Bivariate Correlations, Means, and
Standard Deviations for All Variables
Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5
1. CDSE 3.53 0.55 —
2. DMC 0.82 0.53 –.53* —
3. CA 1.43 0.60 –.49* .72* —
4. EC 1.03 0.60 –.35* .65* .52* —
5. VI 0.49 0.27 .56* –.60* –.68* –.40* —
Note. CDSE = career decision self-efficacy; DMC = decision-making confusion; CA =
commitment anxiety; EC = external conflict; VI = vocational identity.
*p < .01.

Figure 1). CDSE was significantly associated with DMC (b = –0.51, t

= –12.97, p < .001), and the R2 value indicated that CDSE explained
27.56% of the variance in relationship with DMC.
Next, VI was predicted from both CDSE (Path C′1 in Figure 1) and
DMC (Path B1 in Figure 1). CDSE significantly predicted VI even
with relationship DMC in the model (b = 3.01, t = 8.19, p < .001),
and VI was also significantly predicted by DMC (b = –3.80, t = –9.99,
p < .001). The R2 value indicated that the model explained 44.19% of
the variance in VI.
We estimated the indirect effect of CDSE on VI through DMC (b =
1.93) as well as a bootstrapped standard error and CI. Ninety-five percent
of the CIs contain the true value of a parameter in 95% of samples. In the
mediating function of DMC, the results showed that the true b-value for
the indirect effect falls between 1.06 and 3.03. This range did not include
zero, and this indicated a likely genuine indirect effect. In other words, the
relationship with DMC was a mediator of the relationship between CDSE
and VI. Similar to the unstandardized indirect effect, the effect sizes of
the standardized b for the indirect effect was b = 0.22, 95% BCa CI [0.12,
0.34]. According to Preacher and Kelley (2011), κ2 can be interpreted as
a small effect if its values are around .01, as a medium effect if around .09,
and as a large effect if around .25. Here, the value of κ2 was .23 (95% BCa
CI [0.14, 0.32]), which can be interpreted as a fairly large effect.
The results showed that CDSE predicted CA (see Path A2 in Figure 2).
CDSE was significantly associated with CA (b = –.54, t = –11.91, p < .001),

Decision-Making
Confusion
A1 B1

C´1
Career Decision Vocational
Self-Efficacy Identity

FIGURE 1
Mediation Model of Decision-Making Confusion Between
Career Decision Self-Efficacy and Vocational Identity
Note. A1: b = –0.51, p < .001. B1: b = –3.80, p < .001. C´1: Direct effect, b = 3.01, p <
.001. Indirect effect, b = 1.93, 95% confidence interval = [1.06, 3.03].

338 The Career Development Quarterly DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 64

 Commitment
Anxiety
A2 B2

Career Decision C´2 Vocational

Self-Efficacy Identity

FIGURE 2
Mediation Model of Commitment Anxiety Between
Career Decision Self-Efficacy and Vocational Identity
Note. A2: b = –0.54, p < .001. B2: b = –4.28, p < .001. C´2: Direct effect, b = 2.63, p <
.001. Indirect effect, b = 2.31, 95% confidence interval = [1.62, 3.15].

and the R2 value indicated that CDSE explained 24.24% of the variance
in relationship CA. Next, VI was predicted from both CDSE (Path C′2
in Figure 2) and CA (Path B2 in Figure 2). CDSE significantly predicted
VI even with relationship CA in the model (b = 2.63, t = 8.00, p < .001).
VI was also significantly predicted by CA (b = –4.28, t = –14.31, p <
.001), and the R2 value indicated that the model explained 53.25% of
the variance in VI.
The indirect effect of CDSE on VI through CA showed an estimate
of this effect (b = 2.31) as well as a bootstrapped standard error and CI.
Ninety-five percent of the CIs contain the true value of a parameter in 95%
of the samples. In the mediating function of CA, the results showed that
the true b-value for the indirect effect falls between 1.62 and 3.15. This
range did not include zero, which indicated that there was likely to be a
genuine indirect effect. In other words, relationship CA was a mediator
of the relationship between CDSE and VI. Much like the unstandardized
indirect effect, the effect size of the standardized b for the indirect effect
was b = 0.26, 95% BCa CI [0.19, 0.36]. The value of κ2 was .28 (95%
BCa CI [0.20, 0.36]), which can be interpreted as a fairly large effect.
The results showed that CDSE predicted EC (Path A3 in Figure 3) and
that CDSE was significantly associated with EC (b = –0.39, t = –7.97,
p < .001). The R2 value indicated that CDSE explained 12.52% of the
variance in relationship EC. Next, VI was predicted from both CDSE
(Path C′3 in Figure 3) and EC (Path B3 in Figure 3). CDSE significantly

External
Conflict
A3 B3

Career Decision C´3 Vocational

Self-Efficacy Identity

FIGURE 3
Mediation Model of External Conflict Between
Career Decision Self-Efficacy and Vocational Identity
Note. A3: b = –0.39, p < .001. B3: b = –1.86, p < .001. C´3: Direct effect, b = 4.22, p <
.001. Indirect effect, b = 0.72, 95% confidence interval = [0.39, 1.13].

The Career Development Quarterly DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 64 339

predicted VI even with relationship EC in the model (b = 4.22, t =
11.82, p < .001). Relationship VI was also significantly predicted by
EC (b = –1.86, t = –5.70, p < .001). The R2 value indicated that the
model explained 36.22% of the variance in VI.
The indirect effect of CDSE on VI through EC showed an estimate of
this effect (b = 0.72) as well as a bootstrapped standard error and CI. In
the mediating function of EC, the results showed that the true b value
for the indirect effect falls between 0.39 and 1.13. This range did not
include zero, and this fact indicated a likely genuine indirect effect. In
other words, relationship EC was a mediator of the relationship between
CDSE and VI. Much like the unstandardized indirect effect, the effect
size of the standardized b for the indirect effect was b = 0.08, 95% BCa
CI [0.05, 0.13]. The value of κ2 was .09 (95% BCa CI [0.06, 0.14]).
This value can be interpreted as a fairly medium effect.

Discussion
Our first research question explored connections between VI, CDSE, and
dysfunctional career thoughts. The results indicated a positive associa-
tion between CDSE and VI. Also, the three categories of dysfunctional
career thoughts had negative coefficients when correlated with CDSE or
VI. These results were similar to those found in past studies (Austin &
Cilliers, 2011; J. C. Lee et al., 2003; Strauser, Lustig, & Çiftçi, 2008;
Stringer & Kerpelman, 2010; Yanchak et al., 2005) that demonstrated
the relationship among variables. In particular, among three subscales
of dysfunctional career thoughts, the coefficients of EC related with
CDSE and VI were lower than other subscales. Our results were con-
sistent with those of the norm group of J. C. Lee et al.’s (2003) study
for standardizing the CTI in South Korea.
The source of EC’s comparatively weak associations with CDSE and
VI might be found in Korean cultural factors. Korean college students
often make career decisions based on their parents’ expectations (Joeng,
Turner, & Lee, 2012) and hold a very real desire to respect their parents’
career wishes (Leong, Hardin, & Gupta, 2010). Holding parents’ career
opinions in such high regard might lead South Korean college students to
avoid resisting external factors—especially parents’ career expectations—
and accept or follow parental suggestions. On the other hand, Korean
parents’ influence over their children’s careers also might trigger anxiety
rather than EC. S. Kim and Chang (2014) identified the impact of parental
overprotection on anxiety and noted that Korean college students who
experienced higher parental interventions showed a greater tendency to
seek excessive reassurance. That is, Korean students who have been highly
protected by parents could feel strong anxiety about making an important
career decision (e.g., choosing a major or a job) unless they received the
confirmation of significant others, especially their parents. Therefore,
although parents’ influence on career choice remains relatively high in
South Korea, this impact might be perceived by students as a trigger for
career decision-related anxiety rather than an EC.
Our second study aim was to identify the mediation effects of the
three types (DMC, CA, EC) of dysfunctional career thoughts between
CDSE and VI. According to our findings, each of the three types
partially mediates the relationship between CDSE and VI. This means

340 The Career Development Quarterly DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 64

that CDSE and VI are linked by a specific type of dysfunctional career
thought that also determines much of the relationship’s variation. These
results ultimately support other researchers’ findings (e.g., Lent et al.,
2002; Reardon, Lenz, Sampson, & Peterson, 2009) that have indicated
the mediating effects of cognitive-person factors on individuals’ career
development and decision making.
Specifically, both DMC and CA showed fairly large mediating effects
on the relationship between CDSE and VI, whereas the mediating effect
of EC was seen to be fairly medium. According to Lopez and Andrews
(1987), an individual’s career development is significantly associated with
parental influence. Museus (2013) also mentioned that parents in Asia
often make career decisions for their children. This body of scholarship
has demonstrated that Asian students, especially Korean college students,
can have unique career-related problems because their parents’ opinions
remain important during their career development. These students must
negotiate conflicts between parent choice and individual desire.
In our study, however, although EC significantly mediated the rela-
tionship between CDSE and VI, it had lower mediating effects than did
the other dysfunctional career thoughts (DMC and CA). Stringer and
Kerpelman (2010) found that parents’ support regarding career-related
decisions was an important predictor for both CDSE and VI. This result
partly supports the notion that the intervention of significant others on
an individual’s career can work differently depending on whether he or
she perceives that intervention as a support or conflict. In addition to
the relationship with significant others, EC might play a complicated
role in the relationship between CDSE and VI when compared to the
other dysfunctional career thoughts. This implies that each subscale
of CTI could function differently in the relationship between CDSE
and VI. Therefore, future research should focus more deeply on each
subcontent of dysfunctional thoughts.

Limitations
There are some limitations to the current research. First, because the
data were drawn from colleges only in the Seoul metropolitan area,
our sample may not be representative of all South Korean students.
Second, we did not examine the effect of demographic factors, such as
sex or grade, which can affect the mediators or dependent variables and
alter the coefficient. Therefore, to fully confirm the relationships and
mediator effects of dysfunctional thoughts, future research needs to be
conducted with a greater population of subjects with greater diversity
while also controlling for demographic variables.
There also may be a limitation in the process of selecting the variables’
(i.e., CDSE and dysfunctional career thoughts) influence on VI. This
study assumes that dysfunctional career thoughts and CDSE are both
critical in developing VI for South Korean college students. Some litera-
ture, however, shows that career preparation behaviors, career attitude
maturity, and understanding career barriers can serve as powerful buffers
in building successful VI for South Korean college students (e.g., E.
Jeong, 2009; H. J. Lee, 2008). Although past researchers have success-
fully used the matching hypothesis using these variables, it is possible
that the selection of the variables is not entirely crucial.

The Career Development Quarterly DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 64 341

 Practice Implications
In this study, we found that dysfunctional career thoughts can impede
the transition from career-related self-efficacy to the development of
VI among South Korean college students. These findings suggest that
career professionals need to consider the important role of cognitive
influences in the pathway to developing VI. When providing career
services for college students, these professionals must deal with negative
career thoughts from several angles, which include teaching career-related
strategies and providing accurate career information. Career counselors,
in particular, need to discuss the role of cognition (e.g., dysfunctional
career thoughts) to enhance VI and to engage these cognitive influences
by designing intervention plans. Sampson et al. (1996a), for example,
suggested that counselors use strategies based on the CTI, which pro-
vides practical interventions for improving clients’ career thoughts. Their
method of intervention includes identifying the clients’ dysfunctional
career thoughts and restructuring the identified negative thoughts into
positive ones (Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996b).
As a result of recognizing cognitive dysfunction, counselors and clients
would be able to discuss relationships between such negative thoughts and
the clients’ behaviors as well as recognize misunderstandings regarding
career issues. Such a methodology offers college students an opportunity
to see the nature of their cognitive barriers and to restructure negative
thinking, eventually leading to the creation of a robust VI. In addition,
career counselors need to focus both on clients’ anxieties and confusions
regarding career decision making and on the perception of ECs. This
consideration would give the students an opportunity to see the reality
of their situation, thus leading to successful career-related decisions.

Conclusion
Our study found that CDSE had a positive association with VI, and the
three dysfunctional career thoughts have negative relationships with CDSE
as well as VI. In addition, three types of dysfunctional career thoughts
partially mediated the relationship between CDSE and VI. Our findings
provide useful information for career counselors and researchers in under-
standing Korean college students’ career decision processes and their VIs.
These findings benefit career counselors and specialists by enabling them to
better understand the dynamic of negative thoughts in developing college
students’ VI. Cognitive interventions must be addressed to create more ef-
fective career counseling or interventions. We also have worked to interpret
our results using Korean cultural perspectives. This attempt offers career
counselors useful information for understanding Korean college students’
career problems and related contextual factors.

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