Approximately 10% of college students participate in Greek life each year, yet minimal research has been conducted on how these social experiences impact career development variables. The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of Greek life membership on students' level of vocational identity, career decision-making self-efficacy, and goal instability. Participants included 436 seniors, 231 non-Greek students and 205 Greek life students, attending a large public research university during the fall 2012 academic year. Two independent variables (group and gender) and three dependent variables (vocational identity, career decision-making self-efficacy, and goal instability) were explored in the present study, with level of engagement and grade point average serving as moderator variables. The Vocational Identity (VI) Scale from the My Vocational Situation (MVS), Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale--Short Form (CDMSE--SF), and Goal Instability Scale (GIS) were used to measure vocational identity, confidence in making career decisions, and goal directedness, respectively. Additionally, the Revised Student Engagement Questionnaire (Handelsman, Briggs, Sullivan, & Towler, 2005) was adapted for the current study to assess student engagement levels. These measures were selected because of their psychometric properties and widespread use. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and a two-way MANOVA were utilized to examine the first and second research questions, respectively. To explore the final research question, a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was performed. Overall, the results found that individuals participating in Greek-letter organizations reported a higher sense of vocational identity and career decision-making self-efficacy as well as lower levels of goal instability compared to their non-Greek counterparts. Furthermore, group membership accounted for 4% of the total variance among the three outcome variables. After controlling for the covariate of engagement, the effects of membership in a Greek-letter organization remained significant for career decision-making self-efficacy and goal instability. However, strength of vocational identity did not significantly differ between the two groups after accounting for level of engagement. For each research question examined, gender had no effect. Limitations, implications, and areas for future research are also presented. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2014. / March 28, 2013. / Counseling psychology, Educational leadership, Higher education, Higher education administration, Mental health, Vocational education / Includes bibliographical references. / James P. Sampson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Elizabeth B. Goldsmith, University Representative; Janet G. Lenz, Committee Member; Steven I. Pfeiffer, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_254467 |
| Contributors | McClain, Mary-Catherine (authoraut), Sampson, James P. (professor directing dissertation), Goldsmith, Elizabeth B. (university representative), Lenz, Janet G. (committee member), Pfeiffer, Steven I. (committee member), Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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