Psychometric examination of the Psychological Capital (PsyCap) and the Career Decision-Making Process (CDMP) scales

The current study was aimed to validate two scales, potentially jointly used, focused on the four dimensions of Psychological Capital (i.e., hope, resilience, self-efficacy and optimism) and the four facets of Career Decision-Making Process (i.e., career choice anxiety, perceived instrumentality of education, career decision-making self-efficacy and career planning attitude) among middle school students. In Study 1 the PsyCap and CDMP scales were developed and evaluated through a principal component analysis (N = 602). In Study 2 a confirmatory factor analysis (N = 989) was performed in order to validate the four-dimensional structure of the scales. The obtained results provided evidence for two theoretically grounded 16-item scales composed of four factors each: the PsyCap and the CDMP scales. The PsyCap and the CDMP scales are valid self-report measures assessing the key dimensions of psychological capital and the resources able to ease the career decision-making process.

Questo studio contribuisce alla validazione di due scale, potenzialmente utilizzabili in modo congiunto, incentrate sulle quattro componenti del Capitale Psicologico (speranza, resilienza, autoefficacia e ottimismo) e quattro dimensioni del Career Decision-Making Process (ansia verso la scelta, percezione di importanza della scuola, autoefficacia nel processo decisionale, pianificazione del futuro). Basandosi su due campioni di studenti della scuola secondaria di primo grado, l’analisi fattoriale esplorativa e confermativa hanno fornito supporto alla ipotesi che le scale denominate PsyCap e CDMP rappresentino misure di auto-valutazione valide nella rilevazione delle risorse in grado di facilitare il processo decisionale della carriera.