Future career expectations of college students - the contribution of disability status, self-advocacy, self-efficacy, and support

ABSTRACT

This study examined future career expectations of college students with and without learning disabilities (LD) and/or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) while focusing on the contribution of academic self-efficacy, self-advocacy, and family and academic support. Among participants with disabilities, assistance from support centres was also examined. Participants were 342 college students: 179 with LD and/or ADHD and 163 without disabilities. They completed a self-advocacy questionnaire, a general academic self-efficacy scale, a future expectations scale, and a background questionnaire. Whereas students with LD and/or ADHD reported lower levels of academic self-efficacy than students without disabilities, there were no significant differences between the two groups in future expectations. One component of self-advocacy (knowledge of self), family support, and academic self-efficacy were significant predictors of participants’ future career expectations. When participants with disabilities were examined separately, only knowledge of self and academic self-efficacy were significant predictors. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Future expectations
• college students
• learning disabilities
• ADHD

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.