| This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief career group intervention upon vocational identity of clients at a university counseling center. The study also investigates whether interpersonally-oriented students show greater changes in vocational identity as a result of participation in the group than task-oriented students, and whether the interpersonal-oriented students rate group factors as the most useful part of their experience more frequently than the task-oriented students.;Vocational identity was measured using the vocational identity scale of Holland's My Vocational Situation. Subjects were categorized as interpersonally-oriented or task-oriented utilizing their Holland type: those with social, enterprising, or artistic high-point Holland codes were categorized as interpersonally-oriented, those with realistic, investigative, or conventional high-point Holland codes were categorized as task-oriented. The sample was composed of all students seeking help through a brief career group at a university counseling center during the Fall and Winter semesters, 1996-97.;A paired t-test was used to evaluate whether participants would significantly increase their vocational identities, comparing the results of pre- and post-testing with the vocational identity scale. The findings indicated that participants as a whole significantly increased their vocational identity scores.;An analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) was used to investigate whether interpersonally-oriented participants would have significantly higher posttest vocational identity scores than task-oriented participants, controlling for pretest differences. No significant differences were found in the posttest vocational identity scores of the interpersonally-oriented and task-oriented subjects when pre-test differences were controlled.;A test of proportions (Chi-square) was used to evaluate whether interpersonally-oriented participants would state that group factors (interaction with peers, universality, etc.) were the most useful aspects of the experience significantly more often than task-oriented participants. Significant differences were found between the two groups.;The findings suggest that structured groups are efficient and effective methods of career counseling. Regardless of their preferences for social interaction, participants on the whole appeared to benefit from Explore group participation, and to find the experience helpful. Limitations in the study are identified and recommendations for further research are made. |
