Dissertation
The influence of psychological separation and attachment on the career development of Filipino Americans
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
05/2010
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006051
Abstract
In career development research with racial/ethnic minorities, researchers have examined the cross-cultural validity of existing career constructs and theories, as well as culture-specific constructs such as acculturation. There has also been an increase in the examination of contextual variables, such as culture and race, in Asian American career development research. Psychological separation and attachment are familial variables which have been shown to influence aspects of career development. However, studies in this area have sampled primarily Caucasian populations or have combined different ethnic groups in the sample. Given the possible differences between ethnic groups, the main purpose of this study was to examine psychological separation (PSI; Hoffman, 1984) and attachment (IPPA; Armsden & Greenberg, 1987) and their influence on career maturity and career commitment among Filipino American college students. This study also sought to determine how culture-specific constructs, such as acculturation (AAMAS; Chung et al., 2004) and interdependence (SCS; Singelis, 1994), relate to separation and to what extent these cultural variables influence the relationships between separation and attachment and the career variables. Additionally, acculturation was hypothesized to influence the interest area and prestige of Filipino Americans' career choices, as well as their willingness to compromise on a career choice with their parents. My findings revealed that acculturation and interdependence related differently to psychological separation from parents. In addition, separation and attachment had limited impact on career maturity and career commitment. Greater interdependence was associated with lower separation, as measured by a composite of emotional and attitudinal independence. Higher acculturation was related to lower conflictual independence for mother only. The relationship between the separation composite and career maturity was stronger for lower acculturated Filipino Americans. Participants who reported greater conflictual independence had higher scores on career maturity, and participants who reported greater conflictual independence and attachment reported greater career commitment. Some gender differences were found. Males were more psychologically independent from their parents than females and females tended to choose Social occupations with greater frequency than males. Contrary to hypotheses, acculturation was not related to career preference, occupational prestige, or willingness to compromise with parents on occupational choice.
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Details
- Title
- The influence of psychological separation and attachment on the career development of Filipino Americans
- Creators
- Filipina Bacarro
- Contributors
- A. Timothy Church (Chair)Laurie D. McCubbin (Committee Member)Stephanie S Bauman (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Department of Psychology
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Educational Leadership, Sport Studies, and Educational/Counseling Psychology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 136
- Identifiers
- 99901055023201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation