This study tested R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, and G. Hackett's (1994) model of career choice with 364 Mexican American adolescent women. Path analyses were run to determine the influence of contextual and social cognitive variables on career aspiration, career choice prestige, and traditionality. Partial support for the model was evidenced as nontraditional career self-efficacy, parental support, barriers, acculturation, and feminist attitudes predicted career choice prestige. Acculturation, feminist attitudes, and nontraditional career self-efficacy predicted career choice traditionality. Feminist attitudes and parental support predicted career aspiration. The paths between nontraditional career interests and the 3 outcome variables were not supported. Finally, none of the background contextual variables in this study predicted nontraditional career self-efficacy. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This study examined whether sociocontextual and sociocognitive variables explained the math/science goals of 409 Mexican American youth using a modified version of R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, and G. Hackett's (1994) social cognitive career theory. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that the hypothesized model explained a significant amount of variance in math/science goals for both Mexican American girls and boys. Findings suggested that gender did not moderate relations among the variables in the hypothesized model. Results also suggested that most of the social cognitive career theory propositions tested were supported. Specifically, social class predicted math/science past performance accomplishments. Math/science past performance accomplishments and perceived parent support predicted math/science self-efficacy. Furthermore, math/science self-efficacy predicted math/science outcome expectations, and together with math/science interests, these sociocognitive variables predicted math/science interests and goals. Contrary to expectations, generation status, Anglo orientation, and Mexican orientation did not predict math/science past performance accomplishments, and past performance accomplishments did not predict math/science outcome expectations. Furthermore, Anglo orientation and perceived social support from parents, teachers, classmates, and a close friend did not predict math/science goals. Suggestions for future research and implications of the results are discussed.

This study used Lent's (2004) social cognitive model of well-being to examine the academic and life satisfaction of 460 Mexican American college students. A model demonstrated that positive affect, acculturation, college self-efficacy, college outcome expectations, and academic goals predicted academic satisfaction and life satisfaction. Specifically, positive affect had a significant positive relation to all variables measured in the model. Further, acculturation predicted college self-efficacy, college outcome expectations, and academic expectations, academic goals, academic satisfaction, and life satisfaction. College outcome expectations predicted academic satisfaction but not academic goals. Academic goals predicted academic satisfaction and life satisfaction while academic satisfaction predicted life satisfaction. Implications of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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