Factor Structure of the Chinese Career Adapt-Abilities Scale in Youth with a Longer Spell of Status of not in Education, Employment, or Training

Abstract

This study examined the factor structure of the 24-item Chinese version of Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS-China Form) in a sample of 569 youth participants aged 15–21 with a longer spell of status (≥5 months) of not in education, employment, or training (NEET) in Hong Kong. The sample was randomly split into two for exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). EFA with the first split sample favored a 17-item two-factor structure over a 24-item four-factor structure. In CFA with the second split sample, the two-factor structure showed satisfactory goodness-of-fit while the fitness indices for four-factor structure were not satisfactory. The two-factor structure also revealed excellent internal consistency. In summary, CAAS-17 showed a stable two-factor structure with satisfactory internal consistency. The two subscales of CAAS-17 were named as career exploration and career self-efficacy. Implications for research study and relevant career intervention for longer-term NEET youth are discussed.

Keywords:

• career adaptability
• career exploration
• career self-efficacy
• factor structure
• NEET youth

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Research Ethics Committee of Hong Kong Baptist University and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Funding

We acknowledge The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for the funding support for this study [HKBU/HKJCCT/14-15/012].