An Investigation of Factors that Influence Federal Police Officer Career Choice: A Social Cognitive Perspective

The purpose of this quantitative study was to test relationships within the Social Cognitive Career Theory model that influence federal police officer career choice amongst applicants for a high profile federal law enforcement agency based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Specifically, this study tested the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and interest; outcome expectations and interest; and interest and choice goals as measured by the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale -- Short Form (CDSE-SF; Betz & Taylor, 1994) and the Career Expectations and Intensions inventory (Betz & Voyten, 1997). The study also investigated the interaction effect between gender and previous law enforcement experience on self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations.;Structural equation modeling (SEM) with maximum likelihood estimates was used to confirm the causal relationships among self-efficacy, outcome expectations, career interest, and career goals in the theoretical model of the study. Additionally, a Two-way Fixed Factor Between Subjects Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using a 2x2 factorial design was conducted to investigate whether self-efficacy belief scores differed depending on previous law enforcement experience for male and female applicants. This factorial design was also used to assess whether outcome expectation scores differed depending on previous law enforcement experience for male and female applicants.;The results of the study provided evidence that the structural model has acceptable fit, thus presenting a rational explanation for the relationships observed in the data and providing support for the relationships within the Social Cognitive Career Theory's theoretical model of career choice. These findings present the application of the theory in a different job domain, that of law enforcement. The results of the study also showed that the effects of gender on self-efficacy belief scores were different for applicants who had previous law enforcement experience than for those who did not. However, these effects were not statistically significant for outcome expectations. These findings help inform human capital recruitment, selection, development, and retention strategies in law enforcement.