This study explores the relationship between the social cognitive construct of career decision-making self-efficacy and the outcome variables of vocational identity and career exploration behaviors in a sample of 72 urban African American high school students. The results indicate that higher levels of career decision-making self-efficacy are related to both a more differentiated vocational self-concept and to greater engagement with career exploration activities. Implications for career guidance and future research are discussed.

This study explored the potential relationship between the social cognitive variables of career decision-making self-efficacy and perceptions of barriers and the outcome variables of vocational identity and career exploration behaviors in a sample of 128 urban Latino/a high school students. The results indicated that higher levels of career decision-making self-efficacy were related to both a more differentiated vocational identity and a greater engagement with career exploration tasks. Perception of fewer barriers was also found to be related to a more integrated vocational identity. Implications for career counseling and future research are discussed.