Social self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goal progress among American college students: Testing temporal relations by gender and race/ethnicity

ABSTRACT

The transition to college represents an exciting time for adolescents and young adults, but it could also pose a challenge as they adapt to a new environment. According to social cognitive career theory, self-efficacy, outcome expectations and goal progress are key predictors of positive adjustment. While these variables have received considerable empirical attention, they are understudied using longitudinal designs and in the social domain. To fill this gap, the present study adopted the RI-CLPM to examine temporal relations as within-person processes between social self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goal progress among first-year college students (N = 831) who completed measures of study variables at three time points with a lag of four to five weeks. As hypothesized, results derived from the entire sample identified social self-efficacy as a temporal precursor of social outcome expectations and goal progress. A similar temporal pattern emerged for European American students and students of color. However, while a bidirectional model offered the best fit for male students, no cross-lagged paths were significant for their female counterparts. These findings highlight the importance of self-efficacy and outcome expectations and provide implications for promoting positive social adjustment among college students who have different gender and racial/ethnic backgrounds. 

KEYWORDS:

• Social self-efficacy
• social outcome expectations
• social goal progress
• temporal relations
• college students
• RI-CLPM

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hung-Bin Sheu

Hung-Bin Sheu received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He has taught graduate level courses such as career theory and counseling, vocational psychology, multicultural counseling, counseling theory and practicum, and structural equation modeling. His research focuses on cross-cultural and cross-racial/ethnic investigation on adjustment, well-being, and career development, multicultural counseling and training, as well as health behavior and disparities. He has disseminated his scholarship through empirical journal articles, book chapters, and presentations at national and international conferences. He has been on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP) and the Journal of Vocational Behavior since 2010, and has served as the Associate Editor of JCP since January 2020. E-mail: [email protected]

Mary E. Dawes

Mary E. Dawes created and directed the Major and Career Exploration program at Arizona State University until her retirement in 2021. She has focused her work on career development among college students and working professionals, diversity, and professional development of college instructors. She completed her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Arizona State University, is a licensed Psychologist in the State of Arizona, and continues her consulting work. She can be reached at [email protected]

Shiqin Stephanie Chong

Shiqin Stephanie Chong is currently a staff psychologist and international student outreach specialist at University at Buffalo Counseling Services. Her areas of interests are in international and multicultural concerns, supervision and training, self-compassion and mindfulness, identity and career development, and social justice issues. She has taught classes in multicultural counseling and career development. She obtained her doctorate degree from the Counseling Psychology Program at Arizona State University. She is currently serving on the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 17 International Section board as the treasurer. Previously, she was a program reviewer for the NASPA Strategies conference and the Counseling Centers of New York Conference. She also serves as a peer reviewer for the Journal of General Psychology. Her e-mail contact is [email protected].