Background This study was designed to determine the effect of perceived supports and barriers on self-efficacy beliefs and other social-cognitive variables related to second-year science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students' career development. Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) states that career interest is influenced by four cognitive-person variables: self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, interests, and goals. Other variables, such as social supports and barriers, also play an important role.Purpose This study explores the influence of gender and STEM major on perceived supports and barriers. It also analyzes the effects of perceived supports and barriers on the SCCT cognitive-person variables.Method Participants were 811 sophomore students in STEM programs at the University of Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests analyzed the difference in the perceived supports and barriers by gender and students' major. Multiple-group structural equation modeling was implemented to predict the relationship between perceived supports and barriers and SCCT cognitive-person variables. ResultsThe engineering students perceived more teaching staff barriers and fewer teaching staff supports than other students. Male software and hardware engineering students perceived more barriers than other male engineering students. The fit of the model revealed an important effect of perceived teaching staff supports on the four cognitive-person variables. ConclusionsTo determine the influences on the cognitive-person variables, it is necessary to analyze the perceived supports and barriers. Peers and family are the most important perceived supports, while teaching staff and financial difficulties are the greatest perceived barriers.

El objetivo de este estudio ha sido definir el constructo de metas parentales orientadas al logro: dominio, éxito y evitación. Para ello se realizó una adaptación al español del instrumento Parental Achievement Goals Questionnaire (Cuestionario parental de metas orientadas al logro). La muestra empleada fueron 486 progenitores donde el 53.2% eran padres y 46.8% madres. Se empleó la Teoría de Respuesta al Ítem para analizar las características de los ítems y su identificación con el constructo. Se ha recurrido al análisis de varianza para conocer las variables explicativas de las diferencias de este constructo. A continuación, se analizó el valor predictivo de las metas parentales de logro sobre el autoconcepto de los hijos e hijas. Los resultados revelaron el peso del género de los progenitores y los estudios de sus hijos e hijas como variables a tener en cuenta en la explicación de las diferencias entre los tipos de metas parentales.

Título: Control parental en la teoría de la aceptación-rechazo interpersonal: un estudio con una muestra española usando la Versión de los Padres del Cuestionario de Aceptación / Control Parental. Resumen: Control parental en la teoría de la aceptación-rechazo interpersonal: un estudio con una muestra española usando la Versión de los Padres del Cuestionario de Aceptación / Control Parental. La teoría de la aceptación -rechazo interpersonal (IPART) proporciona un adecuado marco teórico para explicar las diversas dimensiones parentales que influencian el ajuste social, cognitivo y emocional de los niños. En efecto, esta teoría desarrolla una dimensión principal, cariño -rechazo, en la que el cariño se encontraría situado en un extremo del continuo y el rechazo en el opuesto. Además, esta teoría también define el control parental tomando como referencia dos polos: el control permisivo y el restrictivo. En el contexto de esta teoría, nuestro estudio ha sido llevado a cabo con una muestra de padres para (a) examinar en qué medida los padres y las madres perciben la aceptación -rechazo como elementos integrantes de su comportamiento de control parental (b) analizar cómo funciona la dimensión control dentro de la teoría IPART (c) examinar si se observan diferencias en las relaciones observadas en los padres y en las madres. Se concluye que el control de conductas correlaciona positivamente con las conductas de cariño. Las correlaciones de padres y madres en estas dimensiones muestran que los padres pueden desarrollar ciertos comportamientos de control pero que éstos son compatibles con las conductas afectivas. Palabras clave: teoría de la aceptación -rechazo interpersonal; cariño-rechazo; control; modelo de ecuaciones estructurales.Abstract: Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection theory (IPARTheory) provides a good theoretical framework to explain the parenting dimensions that influence children's social, cognitive and emotional adjustment. This theory develops one main dimension, warmth-rejection, where warmth would be one pole of the dimension and rejection the opposite one. Besides, the theory has also defined behavioral control dimension with two poles: permissiveness-strictness. In the context of this theory, our study was conducted with a sample of Spanish parents to (a) examine whether parental perceived acceptance-rejection was related to parental behavioral control; (2) analyze how behavioral control dimension worked in acceptance-rejection theory; and (3) examine whether there were differences in the relations obtained between fathers and mothers. We have to conclude that control behavior correlates positively with warmth behaviors. Fathers' and mothers' correlations among these dimensions show that parents can develop certain control behaviors but that they are compatible with affection conducts.

The authors have examined the relative contribution of personal (emotional state, gender-role attitudes), contextual (perceived social supports and barriers), and cognitive (self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations) variables to technological interests in a sample (N ¼ 2,364) of 10th-grade Spanish students. The results of path analysis supported social cognitive career theory (SCCT), indicating that technological self-efficacy contributed to technological interests and technological outcome expectations. Perceived social support and perceived social barriers were related to technological self-efficacy, technological outcome expectations, and technological interests. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that outcome expectations contribute to interests. Contrary to expectations, there was no influence of gender-role attitudes on technological self-efficacy, but gender-role attitudes did determine technological interests. Finally, our study demonstrated that emotional state influenced technological self-efficacy beliefs, technological outcome expectations, and technological interests. This research extends previous work in this area by examining an understudied group, Spanish teenage students.Keywords social cognitive career theory, self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, path analysis, high school studentsThe European Union considers it necessary to make greater efforts to convert science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) into a priority area of education. The demand for a qualified workforce in technology-and research-intensive sectors will remain at a high level, due to their continued need for skills related to STEM. Thus, technological competency is important for professional success in a growing number of occupations. In the case of the Spanish context, which has been influenced by a serious economic crisis, it is even more important to develop such technological

El control psicológico parental se refiere a los comportamientos de los padres que interfieren con los pensamientos y sentimientos del niño y se caracterizan por el uso excesivo de técnicas de manipulación, como la inducción de culpa o vergüenza y la retirada del afecto. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo validar la versión en español de la Dependency-oriented and Achievement-oriented Psychological Control Scale (DAPCS) (Escala de control psicológico orientado a la dependencia y control psicológico orientado al logro), una nueva medida diseñada para evaluar la percepción del control psicológico de un adolescente. Otro objetivo fue determinar la influencia del control psicológico parental percibido sobre el autoconcepto de los adolescentes. Evaluamos la estructura factorial, la fiabilidad y la validez convergente en una muestra de adolescentes tardíos españoles (N = 310, edad media = 19.75). Los análisis de factores exploratorios y confirmatorios mostraron que la estructura factorial de la escala DAPCS se describe mejor con una solución de 2 factores, tanto para padres como para madres, lo que indica la distinción entre control psicológico orientado a la dependencia y el orientado al logro. Los altos índices de consistencia interna indicaron que la escala DAPCS produjo óptimas puntuaciones. Además, la validez convergente fue confirmada por la correlación entre el DAPCS y otras medidas de control psicológico, así como con otras medidas del análisis de la crianza. La regresión jerárquica también mostró que DAPCS predijo el autoconcepto de los adolescentes tardíos. Los resultados de este estudio indican que la versión en español del DAPCS es un instrumento útil para estudiar ambos tipos de control psicológico. Parental psychological control refers to those parental behaviors that interfere with the child's thoughts and feelings and are characterized by excessive use of manipulative techniques, such as inducing guilt or shame and love-withdrawal. This study was aimed at validating the Spanish version of the Dependency-oriented and Achievement-oriented Psychological Control Scale (DAPCS), a new measure designed to assess an adolescent’s perception of psychological control. Another objective was to determine the influence of perceived parental psychological control on adolescents’ self-concept. We evaluated the factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity in a sample of Spanish late adolescents (N = 310, mean age = 19.75). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the DAPCS factor structure is best described by a 2-factor solution, for both paternal and maternal ratings, indicating the distinction between dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented psychological control. High indices of internal consistency indicated that DAPCS produced reliable scores. Moreover, convergent validity was confirmed by consistent associations between the DAPCS and other measures of psychological control and other parenting dimensions. Hierarchical regression also showed that DAPCS predicted late adolescents’ self-concept. The results of this study indicate that the Spanish version of the DAPCS is a useful instrument for studying both types of psychological control.