The purpose of this study was to examine how the career self-efficacy of college students was affected by their own image evaluation and image formation.
The subjects in this study were 867 male and female university students in Incheon. How they eva...
The purpose of this study was to examine how the career self-efficacy of college students was affected by their own image evaluation and image formation.
The subjects in this study were 867 male and female university students in Incheon. How they evaluated their own image(self-esteem and physical image) was assessed, and their image formation(self- presentation strategy and appearance care) and career self-efficacy were evaluated as well. To make a quantitative analysis of the data, SPSS 11.5 and Amos 4.0 programs were utilized, and Cronbach alpha coefficient was employed to evaluate the internal consistency and reliability of the inventory used in this study. Statistical data on frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were obtained by employing Varimax rotation to grasp the general characteristics of the students, and independent-samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were utilized to look for any possible gaps among the students. When one- way ANOVA indicated any significant differences, Scheffe's Post Hoc Test was used to take a closer look at the differences. Finally, stepwise multiple regression analysis was carried out to check into the relative influence of the variables.
The major findings of the study were as follows:
First, concerning the impact of personal background including gender on image self-evaluation, image formation and career self-efficacy, the female students were more active and positive than the male students in terms of image self-evaluation and image formation. As to career self- efficacy, there was a significant gap between the two in target setting only, one of the subareas of career self-efficacy, and the male students were partially ahead of the females in career self-efficacy. By academic year, the students who were in the upper academic year tended to excel those who were in the lower academic year at image self-evaluation, image formation and career self-efficacy. Regarding social approval, one of self-esteem subareas of image self-evaluation, the students whose living standard was lower found themselves to be more acknowledged socially than those whose living standard was higher, but the latter surpassed the former in image formation and career self-efficacy.
Second, as for the influence of image self-evaluation on image formation and career self-efficacy, the students who had a higher opinion on their own image took a more active strategy to present themselves, and those who took a dim view of their own image weren't good at presenting themselves. The former took care of their own appearance in a more active manner than the latter. Therefore it could be said that better self-evaluation of image led to more active and positive image formation. In terms of career self-efficacy, the former was ahead of the latter as well. In conclusion, it could be said that those who took a better view of their own image were more active in bolstering their image and eventually improved in career self-efficacy.
Third, regarding connections between image formation and career self- efficacy, image formation made a difference to career self-efficacy in every regard. The students who were more excellent in presenting themselves and taking care of appearance scored highest in every subarea of career self-efficacy. Those who weren't good at presenting themselves and took care of appearance well got the second highest score, and the students who were good at presenting themselves and didn't take care of appearance well got the third highest score. Those who weren't good at either presenting themselves or taking care of appearance got the fourth highest score. So the students who weren't good at presenting them- selves and took care of appearance well were ahead in terms of career self-efficacy than those who were good at presenting themselves but didn't take care of appearance well. The findings implied that appearance care had the greater impact on career self-efficacy than self-presentation strategy.
Fourth, as to the firsthand and secondhand influence of the major variables affecting career self-efficacy, self-esteem exercised the greatest influence on career self-efficacy. Self-esteem contributed to boosting not only career self-efficacy but image formation regardless of gender. In contrast, their self-perceived image of the body partially affected an assertive self-presentation strategy, one of the subareas of self- presentation strategies of image formation, and that had an impact on appearance care. But as to career self-efficacy, that exerted an influence on that of the male students only. The major parameter that affected career self-efficacy was a defensive self-presentation strategy, one of the self-presentation strategies of image formation. In terms of appearance care, body form and clothing management were effective at bolstering career self-efficacy. Therefore career self-efficacy could be taken to another level if there is improvement in defensive self-presentation strategy, body form and clothing management.
This study made an attempt to assist college students to have a broader understanding of their own image(image self-evaluation) and make a better preparation for their career(image formation). If they get an accurate grasp of their own image and improve it, they will be able to make a better impression on others, which will, in turn, be of use for their career decision formation and employment. This study was meaningful in that it paved the way for providing education(career counseling or through employment camp) tailored to the individual characteristics of college students who are different in self-evaluation of image and image formation.
The focus of this study was placed just on determining how image self-evaluation and image formation affected career self-efficacy, and future research efforts should be channeled into setting up a variety of database on the characteristics and disposition of different college student groups that are divided by image self-evaluation and image formation. An establishment of the database will make it possible to find the influences of additional variables linked to career disposition. If the diverse behavioral characteristics of college students as well as their psychological traits are taken into account, better image consulting services will be provided for them to be better ready for employment, and that will make a contribution to enhancing their career self-efficacy and career preparation behavior as well.