Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Counseling Attitudes Among First-Year College Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between a set of self-efficacy variables and a set of variables assessing attitudes toward counseling. Results revealed a significant relationship between selfefficacy and attitudes toward counseling among a sample of 253 first-year college students. Low perceptions of self-efficacy were associated with a devaluation of career counseling and more negative attitudes toward seeking personal counseling. Implications for these findings are discussed. Keywords: self-efficacy, counseling attitudes, 1st-year college students ********** A traditional-age student's 1st year of college is a time-sensitive stage for increased opportunities for autonomy and decision making. Therefore, 1st-year students undergo a process of adjustment, development, and maturation, while simultaneously making decisions that affect their future. Because self-efficacy traits are malleable (Bandura, 1986; Lent, 2005), it is important to investigate the self-beliefs that are associated with 1st-year college students during this time of increased personal responsibility and free will. This time period is often unlike others because the 1st-year college student may gain a greater sense of independence being away from home for the first time and facing new decisions and challenges. The commencement of one's college experience is influential in shaping one's future personal and professional development. In particular, one's overall experience in college has been found to be critically salient in one's labor-market success and personal life after college (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). To accommodate the needs of students, colleges and universities allocate campus resources (e.g., career centers, counseling centers), which provide support and guidance for those seeking emotional and vocational development. Hinkelman and Luzzo (2007) highlighted the need to better understand die interaction between the mental health and vocational needs of college students. Students who go to college career centers for concerns about choice of major or career path often present with symptoms of depression or anxiety. Similarly, students in counseling centers who are dealing with mental health issues may present with vocational concerns that may affect, or be affected by, their mental health status (Hinkelman & Luzzo, 2007). Super's (1963) developmental life-span theory also considers career and personal counseling as equally important in the career decision-making process. There is an increasing need for staff members of career centers and counseling centers to be mindful of the variety of overlapping vocational and mental health concerns that may emerge among 1st-year college students. Having knowledge of 1st-year students' attitudes toward career counseling and personal counseling will expectantly assist in understanding the campus resources that 1st-year students may be more apt to seek out. Previous research has made efforts to empirically support the overlap between personal counseling and career counseling. For example, Pace and Quinn (2000) found that 11% of clients who sought career counseling as their primary presenting concern also received treatment for mental health issues. Their results showed that 20% of clients who sought counseling for mental health issues also received career counseling. Saunders, Peterson, Sampson, and Reardon (2000) revealed significant positive relationships between depression and career indecision, as well as between depression and dysfunctional career thoughts. Their results also demonstrated a significant negative correlation between depression and vocational identity. Additional scholars have taken the stance that the line between career and personal counseling is relatively negligible (Betz & Corning, 1993; Blustein, 1987; Spokane, 1991; Swanson, 1995). As Al-Darmaki (2012) recently expressed, it is important to assess what factors affect individuals' willingness to seek counseling. …