MODERATOR EFFECTS OF CLIENTS’
CHARACTERISTICS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF CAREER COUNSELING
Jonas Masdonati, Sophie Perdrix,
Koorosh Massoudi, & Jérôme Rossier
Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne,
Anthropole, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Jonas.Masdonati@unil.ch
Introduction
Effectiveness of career counseling

Career interventions are moderately effective, with varying effect sizes.

Variations of effect sizes are explained e.g. by the number of sessions, the
intervention ingredients, the treatment modality, and the type of outcome
measure.

More research is needed in order to verify:
- which variables moderate the efficacy of career counseling;
- which type of intervention modality is effective for which kind of clients.
Brown et al. (2003); Heppner & Heppner (2003); Whiston et al. (1998); Whiston & Rahardja (2008)
IAEVG 2009 Conference
2
Introduction
The longitudinal study “Professional tracks”
Aims:

To assess the short- and long-term effectiveness of career counseling;

To consider specific and non-specific outcome indicators;

To investigate the influence of moderator variables, such as relational
factors and clients’ characteristics.
Masdonati et al. (in press); Massoudi et al. (2006; 2007; 2008)
IAEVG 2009 Conference
3
Method
Sample

Intervention group: 252 clients, 129 women and 123 men; aged between 14
and 56 years (M = 21.7, SD = 7.4); 67% studying, 16% working, 17%
unemployed; 20% compulsory education (secondary I), 56% in postcompulsory education (secondary II), 23% in higher education (tertiary
level).

Reference group: 84 students, 43 women and 41 men; aged between 14 and
20 years (M = 16.6, SD = 1.5).
IAEVG 2009 Conference
4
Method
Measures

Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire revised (CDDQr; Gati,
Osipow, Krausz & Saka, 2000): 34 items assessing Total Career Indecision,
Lack of Readiness, Lack of Information and Inconsistent Information.

Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diner et al., 1985; Blais et al., 1989):
Five items assessing general satisfaction with life.

Satisfaction With the Intervention (SWI; Massoudi et al., in press): 10 items
assessing the general and subjective satisfaction concerning the career
counseling intervention.
IAEVG 2009 Conference
5
Method
Measures

Working Alliance Inventory (WAI; Horvath & Greenberg, 1989): 36 items
assessing global working alliance, agreement about the Goals, agreement
about the Tasks, and quality of the Bond.

NEO Five-Factor Inventory Revised (NEO-FFI-R; McCrae & Costa, 2004):
60 items assessing 5 dimensions: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness,
Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness.

Wonderlic Personal Test (WPT; Wonderlic Inc., 1983): 50 items, 12 minutes;
Brief measure of general mental ability.
IAEVG 2009 Conference
6
Method
Measures

Emotional Intelligence scale (EI; Schutte et al., 1998): 33 items inspired
from Salovey et Mayer’s model (1990).

Demographic data: age; sex; current or past school difficulties; current
additional difficulties; educational level.
Intervention

Individual counseling, lasting between 4 and 6 one-hour sessions, and
containing at least 4 of the ingredients identified by Brown et al. (2003).

Three stages: demand and goals; assessment and information; decisionmaking and planning.
IAEVG 2009 Conference
7
Method
Procedure
Clients
SWLS
and CDDQ
1st
WAI, NEO-FFI-R,
EI and WPT
3rd
SWLS, CDDQ
and SWI
Last
Reference group
SWLS
and CDDQ
SWLS
and CDDQ
1st week
5 week later
IAEVG 2009 Conference
8
Method
Clients’ characteristics:
NEO-FFI-R, WPT, EI,
Demographic data (age, sex,
difficulties, educ. level)
(Relational factors: WAI)
moderator
direct
Post
SWI
Pre
CDDQ-r
SWLS
effectiveness
IAEVG 2009 Conference
Post
CDDQ-r
SWLS
9
Results
5
Clients
Controls
2 = .19
4
3
Clients
Counselees
Reference
Controls
6
Beginning
End
Satisfaction with life
Career decision difficulties
Effectiveness of career counseling
5
4
IAEVG 2009 Conference
2 = .11
Beginning
End
10
Results
Moderator effects of personality
IAEVG 2009 Conference
11
Results
Moderator effects of personality
Conscientiousness
High
Medium
Low
CDDQ
5
4
3
2
Beginning
End
IAEVG 2009 Conference
12
Results
Moderator effects of personality
Conscientiousness
High
Medium
Low
5,0
SWLS
SWLS
4,8
4,6
4,4
4,2
4,0
Beginning
End
IAEVG 2009 Conference
13
Results
Moderator effects of other clients’ characteristics
Clients' characteristic
ΔR square
WPT EI
Age Sex School Add. Educ
SWLS
— .02 *
—
—
— .05 ** —
CDDQ
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Lack of readiness
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Lack of information
—
—
—
—
—
— .04 *
Inconsistent information —
—
—
—
—
—
—
Satisfaction a
— .05 *
—
— .07 ** —
—
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001
a
direct effect
IAEVG 2009 Conference
14
Results
Moderator effects of other clients’ characteristics
Personal or family difficulties:
Additional difficulties
No
Yes
SWLS
SWLS
5,2
5,0
4,8
4,6
4,4
4,2
4,0
3,8
Beginning
End
IAEVG 2009 Conference
15
Discussion
Synthesis

Career counseling is effective considering both specific (decision difficulties;
d ≈ .96) and non-specific (life-satisfaction; d ≈ .70) outcome indicators.

Conscientiousness has small to medium moderator effects on the evolution of
non-specific (d ≈ .28) and specific (d ≈ .35) outcome indicators.

The existence of personal or family problems has medium moderator effects
on non-specific outcome indicators (d ≈ .45).

Emotional intelligence and school problems directly influence (d ≈ .28;
d ≈ .46) satisfaction with the intervention.

Age, sex, education and mental ability do not moderate the effectiveness of
career counseling.
IAEVG 2009 Conference
16
Discussion
School difficulties
EI
Age, sex, WPT,
(educational level)
Personality: C (N)
Personal/family
difficulties
(EI, educational level)
moderator
direct
Post
SWI
Pre
CDDQ-r
SWLS
effectiveness
IAEVG 2009 Conference
Post
CDDQ-r
SWLS
17
Discussion
Implications

Standard career counseling interventions seem to be effective with most types
of clients, both at career-specific and global levels.

Interventions should take into account:
- clients’ personality (particularly, their level of conscientiousness);
- their existing school, family or personal difficulties.

Specific activities should be conceived in order to:
- “compensate” clients’ lack of conscientiousness;
- discuss the interference of difficult life situations on career pathways.
IAEVG 2009 Conference
18
Discussion
Perspectives

Longitudinal studies:
- How do intervention effects evolve after the counseling process?
- Do clients’ characteristics have differed moderator effects?

Process studies:
- Do relational variables moderate or mediate the impacts of career
counseling?
- What about other process variables (e.g. ingredients, intervention type)?
IAEVG 2009 Conference
19
References

Brown, S. D., Ryan Krane, N. E., Brecheisen, J., Castelino, P., Budisin, I., Miller,
M., et al. (2003). Critical ingredients of career choice interventions: More
analyses and new hypotheses. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 62, 411-428.

Heppner, M. J., & Heppner, P. P. (2003). Identifying process variables in career
counseling: A research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 62, 429-452.

Masdonati, J., Rossier, J., & Massoudi, K. (in press). Effectiveness of face-toface career counseling and the working alliance. Journal of Career Development.

Massoudi, K., Masdonati, J., Clot-Siegrist, E., Franz-Pousaz, S., & Rossier, J.
(2008). Evaluation des effets du counseling d’orientation: Influence de l’alliance
de travail et des caractéristiques individuelles. Pratiques Psychologiques, 14,
117-136.
…
IAEVG 2009 Conference
20
References

Massoudi, K., Masdonati, J., & Rossier, J. (2006). De l’efficacité de la
consultation en OSP. Panorama, 6, 21-22.

Whiston, S. C., & Rahardja, D. (2008). Vocational counseling process and
outcome. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of Counseling
Psychology (4th ed., pp. 444-461). New York: Wiley.

Whiston, S. C., Sexton, T. L., & Lasoff, D. L. (1998). Career-intervention
outcome: A replication and extension of Oliver and Spokane (1988). Journal of
Counseling Psychology, 45, 150-165.
This research project is financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation
Thank you to the team of the counseling center of the University of Lausanne:
Eva Clot-Siegrist, Prof Jean-Pierre Dauwalder, Sylvie Franz, Vincent Risse.
IAEVG 2009 Conference
21