Abstract
Abstract This study aimed to analyze the relationships between self-efficacy beliefs and professional interests of 613 adolescents and young people from the interior of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, aged 15-19 years (M = 16.65; SD = 0.75) of which 350 were female, coming from public (84%) and private (15.8%) schools. The instruments used were the Self-Directed Search Career Explorer and the Self-Efficacy Scale for Professional Choice. Women had higher mean in the Social type and men in the Realistic, Entrepreneurial and Conventional types. In self-efficacy for professional choice, students from private schools revealed higher mean than students from public schools. The general level of self-efficacy was explained by investigative, artistic, social interests and type of school. The results also indicate the importance of analyzing the differences found in gender interests. In addition, the study can contribute to the work of counselors regarding the insertion of discussions that help adolescents to understand the influences of interests and self-efficacy in the construction of professional projects, besides bringing more systematic data on the articulation between such constructs.
Highlights
This study aimed to analyze the relationships between self-efficacy beliefs and professional interests of 613 adolescents and young people from the interior of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, aged 15-19 years (M = 16.65; Standard Deviations (SD) = 0.75) of which 350 were female, coming from public (84%) and private (15.8%) schools
The descriptive statistics of the instruments used in this study were calculated, by verifying Means (M) and Standard Deviations (SD), and in the Self-Directed Search Career Explorer (SDS) the lowest mean were found in the types Realistic (M = 13.97; SD = 9.61) and Conventional (M = 14.84; SD = 10.37) and the highest in Social (M = 22.53; SD = 10.72) and Entrepreneur (M = 22.08; SD = 10.41)
Differences were initially sought based on gender, with women presenting higher mean in the Social type (t (604) = 6.737; p < 0.001) when compared to men while the latter showed higher mean in the Realistic types (t (608) = -13.121, p < 0.001), Entrepreneur (t (608) = -4.785, p < 0.001) and Conventional (t (607) = -2.947, p < 0.001) and the effect size was strong 5
Summary
The Social Cognitive Career Development Theory (TSCDC, Teoria Social Cognitiva de Desenvolvimento de Carreira) (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), based on the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1997) is one of the explanatory models for professional development. This dimension contains three interrelated steps concerning career decisions, which are: the formation of interests; academic and career choice; and performance and persistence in educational and occupational pursuits. Performance of an action depends on the person’s actual competence and on incentives and opportunities to perform that action (Ambiel & Noronha, 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
