Social Status Identity: Antecedents and Vocational Outcomes

Abstract

This study extended the literature on potential antecedents and outcomes of perceived social status, or differential status identity (DSI). Fouad and Brown’s DSI was used as a conceptual lens for examining the relation of supports and barriers to an individual’s perceived social status and subsequent career indecisiveness and career decision self-efficacy. Results from a path model using 299 diverse undergraduate students provided general support for the hypothesized model, which included self-reported race/ ethnicity, social class, experiences with racism and classism and primary caregiver support as antecedents of DSI, and indecisiveness and career decision self-efficacy as outcomes of it. Differential status identity was tested as a mediator of the relations between the antecedents and vocational outcomes. Overall, the model was determined to fit the data well, but some paths were unsupported. Implications for research and practice using DSI as a conceptual framework are discussed.