2011/11/01 by Ryan D. Duffy, Matthew A. Diemer, Alex Jadidian · 1 citation
Business, Management and Accounting · Social Sciences · #Career Development and Diversity #Higher Education and Employability #Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
paper · doi:10.1177/0011000011417147
crossref issued 2011/11/01 · crossref published 2011/11/01 · crossref published-online 2011/11/01 · openalex publication_date 2011/11/01 · crossref created 2011/11/02 · crossref published-print 2012/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/05/01 · crossref indexed 2026/07/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
The present study sought to develop and validate an instrument to measure work volition, defined as the perceived capacity to make occupational choices despite constraints, among college students. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted with a large and diverse sample of college students, finding a reliable scale with two factors, volition and constraints. In Study 2, with a new sample of college students, a confirmatory factor analysis was completed finding a final 16-item scale with strong model fit and internal consistency. In addition, the Work Volition Scale–Student Version (WVS-SV) was found to correlate in expected directions with career decision self-efficacy, core self-evaluations, career locus of control, career barriers, and the Big 5 personality traits. Finally, in Study 3, the WVS-SV was found to have strong test–retest reliability. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.