The Relationship of God Support and Religious Community Support to Career Exploration and Career Decsion Self Efficacy

Title of Document: THE RELATIONSHIP OF GOD SUPPORT AND RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY SUPPORT TO CAREER EXPLORATION AND CAREER DECSION SELF EFFICACY Ryan Daniel Duffy, M.A., 2006 Directed By: Professor Robert Lent, PhD Department of Counseling and Personnel Services The current study examined the relationship between religious support, social support, career exploration, and career decision self efficacy in a sample of 133 undergraduate students involved in religious organizations. Hypotheses were partially confirmed as one’s level of social support and religious support, as measured by God support and religious community support, significantly correlated with CDSE but not career exploration. Regression analyses were conducted to explore the ability of the support variables to collectively predict CDSE, where results indicated that overall support accounted for 11% of the variance in CDSE, with God support and social support being significant predictors. It is suggested that, at least for religious students, support gained from religious sources may be equally as important in predicting career outcomes as social support. Further, it is recommended that additional research be conducted to explore the wide range of relationships religion may have on career development. THE RELATIONSHIP OF GOD SUPPORT AND RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY SUPPORT TO CAREER EXPLORATION AND CAREER DECSION SELF EFFICACY