This article describes the development and psychometric assessment of a multidimensional, domain-specific Career Locus of Control Scale (CLOC) designed for use with adolescent school pupils engaged in the career development and decision-making process. A 47-item version was administered to 743 school pupils, age 15 or 16 years evenly split between males and females (54% male). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to develop a 20-item scale that represented expectations related to Internality, Luck, Helplessness, and Powerful Others. Estimates of internal reliability of the subscales were high, and scale scores correlated significantly with measures of generalized locus of control and career decision self-efficacy. Overall, the CLOC scale demonstrated promising psychometric properties such that further research appears warranted and required.
Background Following the birth of a child, parents and other family members have to adapt to their new circumstances. This process takes time and can become more complex when the child is suspected or diagnosed as having intellectual disabilities. When a child has a disability, parents often seek answers as to the origin and nature of the condition as part of the adaptation process. For some parents, this will result in genetic investigations and could lead to the provision of personal genetics about the child and parents.
Materials and methods This paper reports a mixed‐method project that combined questionnaires prior to and interviews after an appointment with a geneticist. The project sought to identify the expectations and experience of parents who had a child referred to specialist genetics services.
Results and conclusions The findings identify that parents felt largely unprepared for their appointment and reported feelings of failing to maximize the opportunity present. The need for more effective liaison between specialist regional and local primary care and learning disability services is also highlighted. Parents made practical suggestions relevant to all the above services about how they could be better supported at this difficult stage in the adaptation process.
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