Maladaptive perfectionism as a mediator and moderator between

1. Maladaptive Perfectionism as a Mediator and Moderator
Between Adult
Attachment and Depressive Mood
Meifen Wei
Iowa State University
Brent Mallinckrodt
University of Missouri–Columbia
Daniel W. Russell and W. Todd Abraham
Iowa State University
This study examined maladaptive perfectionism (concern over
mistakes, doubts about one’s ability to
accomplish tasks, and failure to meet high standards) as both a
mediator and a moderator between adult
attachment (anxiety and avoidance) and depressive mood
(depression and hopelessness). Survey data
were collected from 310 undergraduates and analyzed using
structural equation modeling (SEM)
methods. Results indicated that maladaptive perfectionism
partially mediated the relationship between
attachment anxiety and depressive mood and fully mediated the
relationship between attachment
avoidance and depressive mood. Bootstrap methods were used
to assess the magnitude of the indirect
effects. Significant moderator effects were also found with SEM
methods. The association between
attachment anxiety and depressive mood was stronger as
perfectionism increased. Perfectionism was not
a significant moderator for attachment avoidance and depressive

2. mood.
Throughout the past decade, there has been a growing interest
among counseling psychologists in applying Bowlby’s (1973,
1980, 1988) attachment theory to understanding adult
development
and the counseling process (Lopez, 1995; Lopez & Brennan,
2000;
Mallinckrodt, 2000). The initial formulations of adult
attachment
posited four qualitative categories of attachment based on
combi-
nations of positive and negative working models of self and
others
(e.g., Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). However, research has
failed to confirm the existence of qualitative cutoff points, and
instead supports two continuous dimensions as the best way to
model adult attachment (Fraley & Waller, 1998). In a factor
analysis of data gathered from over 1,000 undergraduates, Bren-
nan, Clark, and Shaver (1998) included all of the extant self-
report
measures of adult attachment (14 measures, 60 subscales, 323
items) and identified two relatively orthogonal dimensions of
Anxiety and Avoidance. Adult attachment anxiety is
characterized
as an excessive need for approval from others and fear of inter -
personal rejection or abandonment. Adult attachment avoidance
involves an excessive need for self-reliance and fear of interper-
sonal closeness or dependence. People with high levels of either
dimension or both dimensions in combination are assumed to
have
an insecure adult attachment orientation. By contrast, people
with
low levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance have the
capacity

3. for secure adult attachment, a positive sense of personal compe -
tence, and the ability to maintain supportive attachments
(Brennan
et al., 1998; Lopez & Brennan, 2000; Mallinckrodt, 2000).
Previous empirical research has provided strong evidence for a
link between insecure attachment and various forms of
psycholog-
ical distress (for reviews, see Lopez & Brennan, 2000;
Mikulincer
& Shaver, 2003). For example, relative to their secure counter -
parts, people with insecure attachment reported greater distress
and
hostility during a laboratory problem-centered discussion
(Simp-
son, Rholes, & Phillips, 1996), greater affective intensity and
emotionality in their daily life (Pietromonaco & Barrett, 1997),
more depressive symptoms (Roberts, Gotlib, & Kassel, 1996),
greater interpersonal problems (Mallinckrodt & Wei, 2003), and
more emotional distress (Collins, 1996). Thus, the link between
various forms of insecure attachment and indices of
psychological
distress (e.g., depressive mood) has been fairly well established.
More recently, research linking attachment insecurity and
distress
(e.g., depressive mood) has been shifting from an examination
of
simple bivariate linear relationships to multivariate
interactional
models that examine the roles of mediators and moderators of
these relationships (Collins, 1996; Lopez, Mitchell, & Gormley,
2002; Roberts et al., 1996; Wei, Heppner, & Mallinckrodt,
2003).
One example of this new emphasis on multivariate models is
recent research that has examined the relationships among

4. attach-
ment, perfectionism, and adjustment (Rice & Mirzadeh, 2000).
Perfectionism has been conceptualized as a multidimensional
con-
struct, with both adaptive and maladaptive aspects (Flett &
Hewitt,
2002). Adaptive perfectionism involves setting high (but
achiev-
able) personal standards, a preference for order and
organization,
a sense of self-satisfaction, a desire to excel, and a motivation
to
Meifen Wei and W. Todd Abraham, Department of Psychology,
Iowa
State University; Brent Mallinckrodt, Department of
Educational, School,
and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri–Columbia;
Daniel W.
Russell, Department of Human Development and Family
Studies, Iowa
State University.
We thank Robyn Zakalik, Shanna Behrendsen, Anne Giusto, and
Mike
McGregor for their assistance with data collection.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Meifen
Wei, Department of Psychology, W112 Lagomarcino Hall, Iowa
State
University, Ames, IA 50011-3180. E-mail: [email protected]
Journal of Counseling Psychology Copyright 2004 by the
American Psychological Association
2004, Vol. 51, No. 2, 201–212 0022-0167/04/$12.00 DOI:
10.1037/0022-0167.51.2.201

5. 201
T
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achieve positive rewards. Maladaptive perfectionism involves
un-
realistically high standards, intense ruminative concern over
mis-
takes, perceived pressure from others to be perfect, a perceived
large discrepancy between one’s performance and personal stan-
dards, compulsive doubting of one’s actions, and motivation to
avoid negative consequences (Enns & Cox, 2002).
Theorists suggest that maladaptive perfectionism results when a
child’s need for acceptance and love from parents is
accompanied
by a parent’s failure to provide the needed acceptance and
positive
regard (Hamachek, 1978). Observational research has shown
that
if caregivers are inconsistent and unreliable in responding to the
emotional or physical needs of young children, anxious
attachment

10. is frequently the result (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall,
1978).
Serious interpersonal problems may develop in adults whose
par-
ents used a love withdrawal style of discipline involving threats
to
withhold affection as a means of control (Mallinckrodt & Wei,
2003). Children with attachment anxiety may quickly learn that
if
they are “perfect” boys or girls, they may be more likely to gain
their parents’ love and acceptance. This pattern of striving for
perfection as a way to earn acceptance that was only
intermittently
available in childhood may persist as a maladaptive pattern in
adults.
A different dynamic may underlie the connection between per-
fectionism and attachment avoidance. Attachment avoidance is
believed to involve a negative working model of others along
with
a positive working model of self (Bartholomew & Horowitz,
1991). However, striving to be “perfect” in the view of others
may
be an outward defense that masks a deeply wounded inner sense
of
self resulting from the inadequate emotional responsiveness of
caregivers early in development (Lapan & Patton, 1986;
Robbins
& Patton, 1985). Children with avoidant attachment tend to de-
scribe themselves as perfect (Cassidy & Kobak, 1988), but they
may drive themselves to attain perfection to avoid others’
rejection
and to manage their own hidden sense of imperfections. For
example, a child may think, “If I am perfect, no one will hurt
me”
(Flett, Hewitt, Oliver, & Macdonald, 2002). Thus, initially

11. striving
to be perfect may be a positive coping mechanism for children
whose caregivers are unresponsive or inconsistent in their
respon-
siveness to the child’s needs. However, if striving to be perfect
is
overused as a coping strategy, it may lead to depressive mood in
adulthood. Therefore, the specific form that the maladaptive
striv-
ing for perfection may take might depend on the particular
mixture
of attachment avoidance or attachment anxiety experienced in
adulthood.
Although several theorists have suggested that the origins of
perfectionism are related to problematic attachment in the
parent–
child relationship, until recently there were very few empi rical
studies of perfectionism and attachment. Among the small
number
of available studies, Rice and Mirzadeh (2000) reported that
mal-
adaptive perfectionism was related to insecure attachment,
whereas adaptive perfectionism was related to secure
attachment
in college students. Similarly, Andersson and Perris (2000)
found
that perfectionism was positively associated with insecure
attach-
ment. Additionally, Flett et al. (2001) found that persons with
high
attachment anxiety and avoidance reported higher perceived
pres-
sure from others to be perfect. Thus, previous studies have pro-
vided tentative evidence that attachment avoidance and
attachment

12. anxiety are positively associated with maladaptive
perfectionism.
Several studies have shown that perfectionis m is positively
associated with depression or hopelessness. For example,
perfec-
tionism in college students was associated with greater
depressive
symptoms (e.g., Chang, 2002; Chang & Sanna, 2001; Cheng,
2001; Hewitt & Flett, 1991) and suicidal preoccupation (Adkins
&
Parker, 1996; Chang, 1998). In longitudinal studies,
perfectionism
has been linked to both depression and hopelessness over time
(Chang & Rand, 2000; Flett, Hewitt, Blankstein, & Mosher,
1995).
Also, Hewitt and Flett (2002) reported that perceived pressure
from others to be perfect was associated with hopelessness
across
different studies and populations (e.g., Chang & Rand, 2000;
Dean, Range, & Goggin, 1996). On the basis of these previous
studies, in the present study we chose to represent the latent
variable of depressive mood with indicators of depression and
hopelessness.
It is possible that adults with high attachment anxiety or avoid-
ance are likely to develop maladaptive perfectionism and, in
turn,
experience significant depressive mood. Some studies have
exam-
ined how maladaptive perfectionism might serve as a mediator
between parent– child interactions and depressive mood.
Randolph
and Dykman (1998) found that perfectionism fully mediated the
relationship between critical parenting and depression-
proneness

13. and partially mediated the relationship between perfectionistic
parenting and depression-proneness in undergraduate students.
Enns, Cox, and Clara (2002) reported that maladaptive
perfection-
ism mediated the relationship between harsh parenting (e.g.,
crit-
ical parenting, parental overprotection, and parental lack of
care)
and depression. However, our search of the literature could not
locate any previous study that examined perfectionism as a
medi-
ator between attachment and depressive mood. If maladaptive
perfectionism does serve as a mediator, interventions could be
targeted at adults with attachment anxiety or avoidance to help
decrease their maladaptive perfectionism and in turn decrease
their
depressive mood.
Hewitt and Flett (2002) argued that perfectionism could serve as
a moderator (as well as a mediator) between insecure
attachment
and depressive mood. Several studies have found that specific
dimensions of perfectionism (e.g., pressure from others to be
perfect) interacted with general stress (e.g., major life stress or
self-appraisal stress) to predict increased depression symptoms
or
negative affect (e.g., Chang & Rand, 2000; Cheng, 2001;
Dunkley,
Zuroff, & Blankstein, 2003; Flett et al., 1995). That is, greater
depression or negative affect was reported by participants with
higher combined levels of perfectionism and perceived stress. In
addition, other studies reported that specific dimensions of
perfec-
tionism interacted with specific stressors to predict higher
levels of
depression. Hewitt and Flett (1993) found that perfectionism,

14. particularly in the form of perceived pressure from others to be
perfect, interacted with interpersonal stressors (e.g.,
relationship
problems or lack of intimacy) to predict depression. It appears
that
maladaptive perfectionism could serve as a potential moderator
of
the relationship between general or specific stressors and
psycho-
logical distress.
Attachment anxiety or attachment avoidance could be viewed as
a source of chronic interpersonal stress. Perfectionism may lead
to
depressive mood because it generates core interpersonal needs
that
are difficult to satisfy (i.e., the need for others’ approval, or the
need to be perfect to avoid others’ rejection). Maladaptive
perfec-
tionism might interact with attachment anxiety or attachment
202 WEI, MALLINCKRODT, RUSSELL, AND ABRAHAM
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19. avoidance to worsen depressive mood (Hewitt & Flett, 2002).
From the standpoint of putative causal links, in a mediating sce-
nario attachment insecurity (x1) is believed to cause higher
levels
of maladaptive perfectionism (x2), which in turn causes higher
levels of depressive mood (y). If the mediation is partial rather
than
complete, there would also be a significant direct link between
(x1)
attachment insecurity and (y) depressive mood (Baron & Kenny,
1986; Holmbeck, 1997). By contrast, in a moderating scenario
there is no requirement that x1 causes x2 and, in fact, the two
variables may be uncorrelated. However, the strength of
associa-
tion between x1 (in this case, attachment insecurity) and y
(depres-
sive mood) is believed to vary for differing levels of x2
(maladap-
tive perfectionism). Unfortunately, there has been no empirical
research studying how maladaptive perfectionism might interact
with attachment to predict depressive mood.
Because it is possible for maladaptive perfectionism to serve as
both an intermediate link in the causal chain leading from
attach-
ment insecurity to depressive mood (i.e., as a mediator) and as a
variable that alters the strength of association between
attachment
insecurity and depressive mood (i.e., as a moderator), both
types of
relationships were explored in this study. Specifically, the
purpose
of the present study was to examine whether the maladaptive
aspects of perfectionism (e.g., concern over mistakes, doubts

20. about
actions, and perceived discrepancy between one’s standards and
performance) serve as a mediator, as a moderator, or as both in
the
context of the relationship between adult attachment insecurity
(anxiety and avoidance) and depressive mood (depression and
hopelessness). Figures 1A and 1B depict both of these hypothe-
sized relationships. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was
used
to test the models depicted in this figure. Slaney, Rice, Mobley,
Trippi, and Ashby (2001) argued that the discrepancy between
high standards and perceptions of performance was a defining
feature of maladaptive perfectionism, whereas high standards
without perceived discrepancy could indicate adaptive
perfection-
ism. Therefore, measures of discrepancy between standards and
performance, concern over mistakes, and doubts about one’s ac-
Figure 1. Hypothesized mediating effects (A) and moderating
effects (B) of maladaptive perfectionism on the
links between attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance
with depressive mood. The moderating effects (B)
of maladaptive perfectionism on the links between attachment
anxiety and attachment avoidance with depressive
mood were examined separately.
203PERFECTIONISM AND ATTACHMENT
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25. ly
.
tions served as the indicators for the construct of maladaptive
perfectionism, in addition to measures of depression and
hopeless-
ness, which served as indicators of the latent variable
depressive
mood.1
Method
Participants
Participants were 310 undergraduate students enrolled in
introductory
psychology classes at a large midwestern university. The
participants were
told that the purpose of the research was “to learn about factors
affecting
college students’ adjustment.” The sample included 225 (73%)
women and
85 (27%) men. Their mean age was 19.27 years (SD � 1.88,
range �
18 –30 yrs.). Approximately 53% of the participants were
freshmen. Ethnic
identification was predominantly White/Caucasian (84%),
followed by
international students of various ethnicities (4.8%), Asian
American
(4.2%), African American (2.3%), Hispanic American (2.3%),
multiracial
American (1.0%), and others (1.3%). Most participants (98.0%)

26. indicated
they were single or never married. Students received partial
credit toward
their course grade for participating in this study. The amount of
credit
varied depending on their particular section of the course.
Instruments
Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECRS; Brennan et
al., 1998).
The ECRS is a 36-item self-report measure of adult attachment
containing
two 18-item subscales derived from the factor analysis by
Brennan et al.
(1998) described previously. The subscales assess dimensions of
adult
attachment, Anxiety and Avoidance. Participants use a 7-point
Likert-type
scale (1 � disagree strongly, 7 � agree strongly) to rate how
well each
statement describes their typical feelings in romantic
relationships. The
Anxiety subscale taps fears of abandonment and rejection. The
Avoidance
subscale assesses discomfort with dependence and intimate self-
disclosure.
Brennan et al.’s reported coefficient alpha was .91 and .94 for
the Anxiety
and Avoidance subscales, respectively. In the present study,
coefficient
alpha was .90 for the Anxiety subscale and .91 for the
Avoidance subscale.
Brennan et al. also reported that scale scores were correlated in
expected
directions with scores on self-report measures of touch aversion

27. and
postcoital emotions. Measured indicators for the two latent
variables of
attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were created from
three
6-item parcels for each subscale. Following the recommendation
of Rus-
sell, Kahn, Spoth, and Altmaier (1998), exploratory factor
analyses were
conducted using maximum-likelihood extraction for the two
factors (Anx-
iety and Avoidance) separately. The items were then rank-
ordered on the
basis of the magnitude of the factor loadings and successively
assigned
pairs of the highest and lowest items to each parcel to equalize
the average
loadings of each parcel on its respective factor.
Almost Perfect Scale–Revised (APS-R; Slaney et al., 2001). The
APS-R is a 23-item self-report measure designed to assess
levels of
perfectionism. Respondents use a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 �
strongly
disagree, 7 � strongly agree) in responding to the items. The
APS-R is
made up of three subscales: High Standards, Order, and
Discrepancy. In
this study only the 12-item Discrepancy subscale was used. This
subscale
measures the degree to which respondents perceive themselves
as failing to
meet personal standards for performance. Slaney et al. reported
a coeffi-
cient alpha of .92 for the Discrepancy subscale, whereas
coefficient alpha

28. was .94 in the present sample. Slaney et al. reported evidence of
construct
validity in the form of significant correlations between the
Discrepancy
subscale and other perfectionism measures such as Concern
Over Mistakes
(r � .55) and Doubts About Actions (r � .62).
Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS; Frost, Marten,
Lahart, &
Rosenblate, 1990). The FMPS is a 35-item instrument designed
to mea-
sure perfectionism. Each item uses a 5-point Likert-type scale
(1 �
disagree strongly, 5 � agree strongly). Consistent with
Dunkley, Blank-
stein, Halsall, Williams, and Winkworth (2000), only two of the
six FMPS
subscales were used as indicators of perfectionis m in this study:
(a)
Concern Over Mistakes (9 items) taps a tendency to interpret
mistakes as
failures and to believe that one will lose the respect of others
when one
fails; and (b) the Doubts About Actions (4 items) subscale,
which measures
the tendency to doubt one’s ability to accomplish tasks or the
quality of
one’s performance. In the present study, coefficient alphas were
.89 and .74
for Concern Over Mistakes and Doubts About Actions,
respectively. Frost,
Heimberg, Holt, Mattia, and Neubauer (1993) found that
Concern Over
Mistakes and Doubts About Actions not only reflected

29. maladaptive eval-
uative concerns of perfectionism, but were also the subscales
most strongly
related to depression. Criterion-related validity is evidenced by
correlations
between FMPS subscales and measures of psychological
symptoms (e.g.,
Brief Symptom Inventory) and adjustment such as
compulsiveness, self-
esteem, procrastination, and depression (Frost et al., 1993,
1990).
Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Ward, Mendelson,
Mock, &
Erbaugh, 1961). The BDI is a widely used 21-item self-report
measure of
depressive symptoms. Each item consists of a depression
symptom cluster
scored on a 0 –3 response scale based on the severity of the
symptom.
Scores across the items are summed to obtain a total BDI score,
with higher
scores indicating more severe depression. Internal consistency
for the BDI
for undergraduates ranges from .78 to .92, with a mean
coefficient alpha of
.85. In the present study, coefficient alpha was .86. Test–retest
reliabilities
for nonpsychiatric participants ranged from .60 (7 days) to .83
(1– 6 hr),
with reports of .78 for a 2-week and a 3-week period.
Considerable
evidence of validity has been demonstrated for the BDI as a
measure of
depressive symptoms (Beck, 1967; Bumberry, Oliver, &
McClure, 1978).

30. Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS; Beck, Weissman, Lester, &
Trexler,
1974). The BHS is a 20-item inventory that assesses the degree
to which
an individual’s cognitive schemata are characterized by
pessimistic expec-
tations. The scale uses a true–false response format. Scores can
range from
0 to 20, with higher scores indicating a greater degree of
hopelessness.
Internal consistency of .93 has been reported, along with
concurrent
validity of .74 with clinical ratings of hopelessness and .60 with
other
scales of hopelessness (Beck et al., 1974). In the present study,
coefficient
alpha for the BHS was .78.
Procedure
The questionnaires were administrated to small groups of 3–25
students
who signed up for one of several data collection times.
Participants were
guaranteed anonymity of their responses and confidentiality of
the data,
given that no personal identifying information was solicited on
the ques-
tionnaires. Completing the entire packet of instruments
typically required
25– 40 min.
Results
Descriptive Statistics

31. Means, standard deviations, and zero-order correlations for the
13 measured variables are shown in Table 1. Data were checked
for normality, which is a critical assumption underlying the
1 One issue raised by reviewers concerned the fact that we only
used one
measure, the ECRS, to operationalize the attachment variable.
Because the
ECRS was developed on the basis of a factor analysis of
existing measures
of attachment (see Brennan et al., 1998), we felt that this
measure ade-
quately represented the nature of the construct. Indeed, it is
very likely that
items on any other measure of adult attachment would be
redundant with
items on this measure. Therefore, we did not feel it was
necessary to use
other measures of adult attachment in this investigation.
204 WEI, MALLINCKRODT, RUSSELL, AND ABRAHAM
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32. co
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34. is
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36. maximum-likelihood procedure used in this study. Results indi-
cated univariate normality for all measured variables except the
BHS (Beck et al., 1974; skew Z � 1.87, and kurtosis Z � 4.47).
We therefore conducted a square root transformation for the
BHS
variable. The skew and kurtosis for the transformed BHS were Z
�
.16 and .75, respectively, indicating a normal distribution. The
BHS and the transformed BHS were highly correlated (r � .94).
Therefore, we used the transformed BHS variable in subsequent
analyses.2
Measurement Model for Testing Mediation Effects
The analysis of the proposed mediation model followed the
two-step procedure recommended by Anderson and Gerbing
(1988). First, we used a confirmatory factor analysis to develop
a
measurement model with an acceptable fit to the data. Once an
acceptable measurement model was developed, the structural
model was tested. The measurement model was estimated using
the maximum-likelihood method in the LISREL 8.50 program.
As
suggested by Hu and Bentler (1999) and Quintana and Maxwell
(1999), three indices were used to assess goodness of fit for the
models: the comparative fit index (CFI; values of .95 or greater
are
desirable), the standardized root-mean-square residual (SRMR;
values of .08 or less are desirable), and the root-mean-square
error
of approximation (RMSEA; values of .06 or less are desirable).
Finally, we used the chi-square difference test to compare
nested
models. An initial test of the measurement model resulted in a
relatively good fit to the data, �2(38, N � 310) � 72.60, p �

37. .001,
CFI � .98, SRMR � .04, and RMSEA � .05 (95% confidence
interval [CI]: .03, .07).3 All of the loadings of the measured
variables on the latent variables were statistically significant ( p
�
.001; see Table 2). Therefore, all of the latent variables appea r
to
have been adequately measured by their respective indicators.
In
addition, the correlations among the independent (exogenous)
la-
tent variables, the mediator latent variable, and dependent latent
variable were statistically significant ( p � .05; see Table 3)
Structural Model for Testing Mediation Effects
A number of methods have been suggested in the literature for
testing mediation effects. Recently, MacKinnon, Lockwood,
Hoff-
man, West, and Sheets (2002) evaluated 14 methods with regard
to
2 We also tested the multivariate normality of the observed
variables as
a set, including the transformed BHS (Beck et al., 1974)
variable, based on
the test developed by Mardia (see Bollen, 1989). The significant
result,
�2(2, N � 310) � 114.05, p � .001, indicated that the data
were not
multivariate normal. Therefore, we used the procedure
developed by Sa-
torra and Bentler (1988) to adjust the chi-square statistics and
standard
errors of the parameter estimates for the impact of
nonnormality. In the

38. mediation model, the results after adjusting for the impact of
nonnormality
did not differ from the results when we did not adjust for
nonnormality. In
the moderation model, the results for the path coefficients were
identical
whether or not we adjusted for the impact of nonnormality.
However, the
standard error of the latent interaction term became very large
following
the adjustment for nonnormality. This problem associated with
interaction
terms and the Satorra-Bentler adjustment for nonnormality has
been noted by
others (e.g., Yang-Wallentin & Joreskog, 2001). Therefore, we
report results
for the moderation model without adjusting for the impact of
nonnormality.
3 We examined whether the results would be equivalent for men
and
women in the measurement model, structural model, and the
models with
interaction effect. A series of multiple-group analyses were
conducted
using LISREL 8.50 to examine whether female and male groups
differed
from one another in terms of the measurement model, the
structural model,
and the models with interaction effects (Byrne, 1998). Results
suggested
that the measurement model and structural model were
equivalent for the
male and female groups. However, the models comparing men
and women
that included the interaction effect did not converge. This was

39. likely
because of the relatively small number of men (n � 85)
included in the
sample. Therefore, we conducted a hierarchical regression
analysis to
examine whether the interaction effect varied for men and
women. Results
of the regression analysis indicated that the three-way
interaction (Attachment
Anxiety � Maladaptive Perfectionism � Gender) predicting
depressive mood
was not significant (� � .002), …
IFSP Sample Template
Child’s name ________________________ Age
_______________________ Date ______________________
Service Coordinator_(this will be
you)_________________________________ Review Date
_(the date you
submit)_____________________
I. Statements of Family Strengths and Resources
II. Statements of Family Concerns and Priorities
*Concerns:

40. *Priorities:
III. Child’s Present Level of Development and Abilities
Cognitive Skills (Thinking, reasoning, and learning)
Communication Skills (Understanding, communicating with
others, and expressing self with others)
Self- Care/Adaptive Skills (Bathing, feeding, dressing, and
toileting)
Gross and Fine Motor Skills (Moving)
Social-Emotional Development (Feelings, coping, and getting
along with others)

41. Health/Physical Development (Hearing, vision, and health)
IV. Outcome Statements
• Write one Goal with a strategy or activity that Dashawn must
master before the next meeting in 6month.
• Write one goal with a strategy or activity that his parents must
due before the next meeting in six months.
Dashawn’s Case
Dashawn was referred to the Infant & Toddler Connection of
Wonderland by his Pediatrician, Dr. Purvis. Dr. Purvis sent over
copies of the developmental screening and M-CHAT he
completed with Dashawn. Based on parent report, Dashawn was
born full-term, weighing 8lbs 3 oz., following an uncomplicated
pregnancy. He has a history of ear infections and his sister
received speech therapy when she was a toddler. Dashawn’s
mother is not concerned about his hearing or vision. During the
evaluation, Dashawn played with blocks, a ball, looked at
books, and pointed to some body parts. He made some animal
sounds, used jargon as he played, and said two words. Dashawn
interacted with others around him, responded to his name, and
following simple directions. He took turns in play, put shapes in
a puzzle, and scribbled with crayons. He pretended to feed his

42. Clifford dog and put him to sleep. Dashawn can take off his
clothes and occasionally seems to be aware that his diaper is
soiled. He eats without any problems except that he chokes
often, according to his mother. Based on the evaluation,
Dashawn was found eligible for weekly speech therapy services
due to developmental delays. He is showing strengths in his
gross and fine motor, social, receptive communication and self-
help skills. Dashawn was born August 12, 2013.
Dashawn was referred to the Infant & Toddler Connection of
Wonderland by his pediatrician, Dr. Purvis, due to concerns for
his expressive language development. Dr. Purvis completed a
developmental screening with Dashawn and his mother at 24
months well-child visit and noted that Dashawn was only using
three words: mama, ball and juice. Dr. Purvis also completed
the M-CHAT but no concerns for autism were noted based on
the screening results. Dr. Purvis recommended that Dashawn be
tested by the developmental pediatrician at the local children’s
hospital, which is scheduled for May. Dashawn also had an
audiological exam on July 3, 2018, which found his hearing to
be within normal limits. Dashawn was born full-term, weighing
8lbs 3oz, following an uncomplicated pregnancy. Based on
review of Dashawn’s medical records, the only complication
noted after delivery was jaundice, three ear infections but
otherwise has been a healthy child. Dashawn passed his
newborn hearing screening at birth and no concerns have been
noted for his vision. All immunizations are up-to-date.
Dashawn’s mother reports a family history of delayed
communication development, as his sister also received early
intervention services due to developmental delay. His
assessment service planning was held in the family’s home with
Dashawn, his mother, a speech therapist, a developmental
service provider, and the service coordinator present. Dashawn
was shy at first, but warmed up quickly to the assessment
activities. He especially enjoyed playing with the ball, putting
pegs in a pegboard, and scribbling with crayons. As Dashawn
warmed up, he began to interact with those around him and

43. would look around to be sure that everyone was watching and
clapping for him. He took turns in play stacking blocks (up to a
tower of eight) and knocking the tower down and tossing the
ball back and forth. While playing with the ball, at one point
Dashawn hit his head on the underside of the table and went to
his mother for comfort. He quickly recovered and continued
playing. Dashawn was able to follow directions to locate the
ball, to give the ball to his mom, and other 1-2 step commands.
During the assessment, Dashawn responded to his name, pointed
to pictures in a book, and pointed to 5 body parts on a doll and
himself. When looking at the book, Dashawn made the “woof”
and “meow” sounds to pictures of dogs and cats, and used some
jargon in play.
They only true words today were “mama” and “ball”.
Dashawn’s mother said that Dashawn can also say “top’ for
stop, to tell his sister to stop bothering him. Dashawn’s mother
reports that Dashawn has tantrums often during the day when he
gets frustrated or tired. Because Dashawn’s tantrums are so
frequent, his mother said that it is difficult to take him out on
errands and to the mall. Dashawn’s mother and sister have
started trying to teach Dashawn a few signs (more, cracker, car)
but Dashawn have not yet begun to use them.
Dashawn attended well to activities where he played one-on-one
with an adult. He put the shapes in the puzzle and looked to the
educator who was playing with him for help when the triangle
would not fit correctly. He enjoyed scribbling and copying lines
and playing a matching game during which he matched three
objects on request. Dashawn played pretend with his Clifford
stuffed animal, pretending that Clifford was eating and going to
sleep. When Dashawn wanted to play a different game, he
would put his hands on the toy bag that contained the testing
materials, look at the educator, and vocalize “uh-uh” He was
very purposeful in his communication but was not able to
imitate words or sounds in play today.
Dashawn is able to move about independently by walking,
climbing, and running. His mother reports that Dashawn’s

44. ability to move is his greatest strength. Dashawn can push and
carry large objects, like his child sized chair. He can jump from
the bottom step in his house, climb up onto the couch to sit, and
throw a large ball without falling. Dashawn helps put laundry
away and helps throw trash away when asked. He can take off
his clothes and occasionally seems to be aware of his diaper
being soiled. Dashawn will vocalize to get assistance, using the
same “uh-uh” sounds mentioned earlier, and will point to what
he wants if out of reach. Dashawn eats well but has trouble
chewing his food. His other reports that he will sometimes pack
his cheeks “like a squirrel” then choke trying to swallow. She
also reports that when he was an infant, he took a long time to
drink his bottle. Dashawn can feed himself using fingers and
will sometimes use a spoon. He also drinks from a sippy cup
and will say “hush” to get juice when his cup is empty. Based
on the assessment, Dashawn is showing strength in his gross
and fine motor, social receptive communication, and self-help
skills. He is showing developmental delays in his expressive
communication and cognitive development. His expressive
communication is limited by the fact that Dashawn is only using
4 words consistently at this time and seems to have a limited
variety of sounds. He seems to have some difficulty
coordinating the movements of his mouth to chew and make
sounds. Dashawn’s cognitive delay appears to be related to his
expressive communication, as his problem-solving skills appear
to be appropriate for his age.
Writing IFSP –Dashawn’s casePage 4
The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and the
Individualized Education Program (IEP)

45. Definition of the IFSP
A plan of services for infants and toddlers and their
families. Such a plan includes statements regarding the
child’s present developmental level, the family’s
strengths and needs, the major outcomes of the plan,
specific interventions and delivery systems to
accomplish outcomes, dates of initiation and duration of
services, and a plan for transition into
public schools.
Definition of the IEP
A program devised to satisfy IDEA’s requirement that
students with disabilities must receive an educational
program based on multidisciplinary assessment and
designed to meet their individual needs. The IEP must
include consideration of the student’s present level of
performance, annual goals, special education and related
services, time in general education,
timeline for special education services,
and an annual evaluation.
FIRST THING!!!!!
(before anything else)PARENTAL CONSENTParents as
partnersCultural, ethnic, and linguistic differencesFamily’s
strengths and needsChild’s strengths and needs
Process of the IFSP

46. SCREENING. Child Find,
established in the 1960s
(though not added to law
until 1986) as an effort to
find children with disabilities
and other special needs,
does a screening to find
those children. Those that
need further evaluation go
on to diagnostic testing.
Definition of a couple of terms …VALIDITY: a test that
measures what it purports to measure.RELIABILITY: how
accurate, de-pendable, and predictable a test is.SENSITIVITY:
ability of a screening tool to identify correctly children with
disabilities.SPECIFICITY: ability of a screening tool to
correctly identify children who do NOT have a disability
Back to IFSP process
DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY. Eligibility for
special education and related services cannot be
made on a single test or assessment. The data
must be gleaned from several domains and
sources. Assessment tools must be in a child’s
native language. This does not mean a tool that
has been TRANSLATED – this screws with the
test’s validity and reliability.
IFSP process
PLANNING THE PROGRAM – to plan a

47. program that will benefit the family and the
child; the writing of the IFSP with all domains
considered and a part of the writing. IFSP
outlines what services will be delivered, how
they will be delivered, and what skills and areas
will be addressed.
End of IFSP process . . .
MONITORING PROGRESS and
EVALUATING THE PROGRAM: the IFSP
should be reevaluated at least once a year.
From these evaluations, the program may be
modified to better suit the
child’s strengths and needs.
TERMINOLOGYService coordinator: an interdisciplinary team
member responsible for integrating services and keeping the
family informed and involved.Assistive technology: various
kinds of equipment designed to facilitate learning and
communication for children with disabilities.Itinerant special
education teacher: a consultant that travels between several
classrooms for service delivery
TERMINOLOGYAUDIOLOGIST: a specially certified
professional who focuses on hearing testing and hearing
impairmentsDURATION MEASURES: how long an event or
behavior lasts.FREQUENCY COUNTS: keeping track of how
often a behavior occursINTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM: several
different professionals working together on a common
problemIQ TESTS: intelligence tests, norm-referenced

48. TERMINOLOGYLEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT:
most normalized environment in which the needs of a child with
disabilities can be met appropriately.MULTIDISCIPLINARY:
involving members of various disciplines who work
independently but exchange findingsNORM-REFERENCED
ASSESSMENT: instrument that compares a child’s
developmental level to a normative sample of same-age peers.
TERMINOLOGYORIENTATION AND MOBILITY
SPECIALIST: therapist who works with children with visual
impairments to teach awareness of their position in the
environment, of significant objects, and how to move safely and
efficiently in the environment.PATHOLOGIST: professional
who focuses on diseases or impairments.PEDIATRIC
OPHTHALMOLOGIST: physician who specializes in diseases
and malfunctioning of the eyes in developmental years.
TERMINOLOGYPORTFOLIO: a carefully selected collection
of a child’s work that is used to document growth and
development.PSYCHOLINGUIST: one who studies and analyzes
the acquisition and production of
languagePSYCHOPATHOLOGIST: one who specializes in
viewing mental disorders from a psychological
perspective.SECONDARY PREVENTION: providing adequate
intervention services before the condition worsens or affects
other areas of development.

49. TERMINOLOGYSERVICE DELIVERY MODEL: a formal plan
devised by the various agencies involved in providing services
to a child and his/her family.STANDARDIZED TESTS:
assessment instruments that include precise directions for
administering and scoring.TRANSDISCIPLINARY TEAM: a
team that shares the responsibilities for assessment, program
planning, implementation, and evaluation across members.
TYPES OF TEACHER
OBSERVATIONAL
ASSESSMENTS:CHECKLISTSFREQUENCY
COUNTSDURATION MEASURESANECDOTAL
NOTESRUNNING RECORDSLOGS, JOURNALS,
DIARIESTIME SAMPLINGLANGUAGE
SAMPLINGPORTFOLIO
TEACHERS SHOULD NOT:MAKE A DIAGNOSIS!!!Use
LABELS to describe children Raise parents’ ANXIETYTELL
parents what to doJUMP TO CONCLUSIONS without adequate
data
TEACHERS SHOULD:Work well with familiesVoice concerns
to familiesListen carefully and respectfullyBe knowledgeableBe
culturally sensitiveWork collaboratively with parentsRemember
that all children (and all parents) are different and unique.

50. PROCESS OF THE IEP
Same as for IFSP: screen,
diagnose, plan program,
monitor, and evaluate.Should include child’s present levelsLong
term goalsShort term objectivesSpecific services to be
providedAccountabilityWhere and when
WHO IS ON THE TEAM???PARENTSChild’s regular
classroom teacherChild’s special education teacherPrincipal or
vice-principal or program head (LEA representative)A person
who can interpret the dataService coordinator or
equivalentSchool counselor or equivalentInterpreterPhysical
therapistOccupational therapist
PsychologistMedical DoctorSpeech-Language
PathologistCommunity support personSocial WorkerOrientation
and Mobility SpecialistLawyersBehavior specialistsAssistive
technology specialistVision SpecialistASL interpreterOther
interested or involved parties
Informal Assessment Measures
Checklist: a method
of documenting the
presence or absence of
skill or behavior in a
developmental
sequence.
~class activity
Frequency Count:
keeping track of how
often a behavior
occurs.

51. ~watch how many times players in white shirts pass ball
http://viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/grafs/demos/15.html
Informal Assessment Measures
Running Records:
detailed account of a
segment of time,
recording all behaviors
and quotes during that
time.
~write down EVERYTHING exactly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ulsq4a2SCg&feature=related
*
Informal Assessment Measures
Logs, Journals,
Diaries: a form of
observation technique
that involves making a
page of notes about
children’s behavior in a
cumulative journal.
Time sampling:
method of recording
where children are by
choice at a certain
time, measuring
attention span and
interests.

52. Informal Assessment Measures
Anecdotal Notes:
Factual narrative of an
incident
Portfolio: a carefully
selected collection of a
child’s work that is
used to document
growth and
development.
Informal Assessment Measures
Duration Measures:
How long an event or
behavior lasts
~ about 4 minutes
~ how many questions Will asks
~ how many letters in his answer?
~ how many times does he use the letter Q?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoGZ7rhZNHo
The Career Development of Mexican American Adolescent
Women:
A Test of Social Cognitive Career Theory

53. Lisa Y. Flores
The Ohio State University
Karen M. O’Brien
University of Maryland, College Park
This study tested R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, and G. Hackett’s
(1994) model of career choice with 364
Mexican American adolescent women. Path analyses were run to
determine the influence of contextual
and social cognitive variables on career aspiration, career
choice prestige, and traditionality. Partial
support for the model was evidenced as nontraditional career
self-efficacy, parental support, barriers,
acculturation, and feminist attitudes predicted career choice
prestige. Acculturation, feminist attitudes,
and nontraditional career self-efficacy predicted career choice
traditionality. Feminist attitudes and
parental support predicted career aspiration. The paths between
nontraditional career interests and the 3
outcome variables were not supported. Finally, none of the
background contextual variables in this study
predicted nontraditional career self-efficacy. Implications of the
results and suggestions for future
research are discussed.
Mexican American women constitute a significant portion of the
American population (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996), are
underrepresented at all levels of education (Carter & Wilson,
1993;
Lango, 1995; McNeill et al., 2001; U.S. Bureau of the Census,
1991), and are overrepresented in low-paying occupations tradi-
tionally occupied by women (Arbona, 1989; Arbona & Novy,
1991; Ortiz, 1995). Relatively little empirical research has been
conducted to identify the variables that contribute to the educa -

54. tional and occupational underachievement of Mexican American
women. Indeed, researchers have noted that the career develop-
ment of Hispanics has received only slight consideration in the
counseling and vocational literature (Arbona, 1990; Fouad,
1995;
Hoyt, 1989; McNeill et al., 2001), and they have questioned the
generalizability of career development theories to Hispanics
(Ar-
bona, 1990, 1995; Fitzgerald & Betz, 1994; Hackett, Lent, &
Greenhaus, 1991). The purpose of this study was to investigate
the
applicability of a current model of career choice to the
experiences
of Mexican American adolescent women and to extend the
current
model to incorporate variables that are hypothesized to be
salient
to this population.
It is well documented that Hispanics are the least educated
when
compared with other major racial/ethnic groups in the United
States and that, among Hispanics, Mexican Americans have the
lowest high school and college completion rates (47% and 6.5%,
respectively; U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996). Mexican Ameri -
can women are less likely to graduate from college than their
male
counterparts (Ortiz, 1995; Tinajero, Gonzalez, & Dick, 1991),
and
their representation in higher education decreases significantly
at
each successive level (Carter & Wilson, 1993). Moreover, those
Mexican American women who pursue higher education
confront
many stressors and may experience psychological distress as
they

55. seek to reconcile their career aspirations with their familial and
cultural values (Niemann, 2001).
Education is related to occupational status, and thus, the re-
stricted employment status among Mexican American women is
not surprising given their low educational attainment. Arbona
(1989) reported that, occupationally, Hispanic women were con-
centrated in low and mid-level technical, service-oriented, and
clerical type jobs. According to Ortiz (1995), Mexican
American
women were less likely to be professionals or private business
owners and earned less money when compared with women
from
other racial/ethnic groups and Mexican American men.
Moreover,
Mexican American women who were in professional
occupations
were more likely to choose traditional and low-status
occupations
(Ortiz, 1995).
A review of the literature on Mexican American women re-
vealed inconsistencies between their educational and vocational
achievements and aspirations. For example, Arbona and Novy
(1991) reported that the majority of Mexican American college
women in their study aspired to investigative and enterprising
type
jobs. It is interesting that the percentage of women who
expected
to enter these fields was smaller than the percentage of women
who aspired to these careers, whereas the opposite was true of
those who aspired and expected to enter fields that have
typically
represented traditional career options for women. Other studies
Lisa Y. Flores, Department of Psychology, The Ohio State

56. University;
Karen M. O’Brien, Department of Psychology, University of
Maryland,
College Park.
This study was based on the doctoral dissertation of Lisa Y.
Flores,
which was conducted under the direction of Michael J. Patton.
An earlier
version of this article was presented at the 108th Annual
Convention of the
American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, August
2000.
We thank Nancy Betz, Mary Heppner, and Fred Leong for
helpful
feedback on earlier versions of this article; Kristopher Preacher
and Robert
MacCallum for statistical consultation; Jamilla Griffin and
Jason Quaran-
tillo for assistance with coding data; and the students, teachers,
counselors,
and administrators of the participating schools.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Lisa Y.
Flores, Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University,
1885 Neil
Avenue Mall, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1222. E-mail:
[email protected]
Journal of Counseling Psychology Copyright 2002 by the
American Psychological Association, Inc.
2002, Vol. 49, No. 1, 14 –27 0022-0167/02/$5.00 DOI:
10.1037//0022-0167.49.1.14
14

57. revealed that Mexican American girls aspired to careers that re -
quired a college degree and to obtaining a postsecondary
education
(Hernandez, Vargas-Lew, & Martinez, 1994; Valenzuela, 1993).
Reyes, Kobus, and Gillock’s (1999) study indicated that 87% of
the girls in a sample of predominantly Mexican American 10th-
grade students aspired to nontraditional or male-dominated ca-
reers. Clearly, a difference exists between Mexican American
women’s educational and vocational aspirations and their actual
achievements, suggesting that these women may not be realizing
their educational and career potential.
Prior studies on the career development of Hispanics have
focused primarily on their educational and career aspirations
(Ar-
bona & Novy, 1991; Hernandez et al., 1994; Reyes et al., 1999)
and the factors postulated to be related to their educational
success
(Cardoza, 1991; Fisher & Padmawidjaja, 1999; Gandara, 1982;
Gillock & Reyes, 1999; Hess & D’Amato, 1996; Keith & Licht-
man, 1994; Lango, 1995; Ramos & Sanchez, 1995; Rodriguez,
1996; Valenzuela, 1993; Vasquez, 1982; Wycoff, 1996). Other
studies have examined the barriers that Hispanic students antici -
pate in their educational and career endeavors (Luzzo, 1992;
McWhirter, 1997). The research to date provides insight into the
career development of Hispanic individuals but contains limita -
tions that restrict its use.
First, several studies are descriptive in nature, and while helpful
in understanding patterns of behavior with this group, they do
not
further knowledge regarding the salient predictors of career be -
haviors. Second, several studies included racially/ethnically di -

58. verse samples (in which the number of Hispanics were
dispropor-
tionately small) or failed to report the ethnic background of
Hispanic participants. Because of the educational and
occupational
differences between racial/ethnic groups and among Hispanics,
investigating ethnically diverse subgroups individually seems
war-
ranted (Arbona, 1995). Another limitation of the existing
studies is
that many included both women and men. Given differences in
Mexican American women’s and men’s educational attainment,
occupational status, and socialization within the culture, women
and men should be investigated separately to understand the ef-
fects of cultural and gender role socialization on career
decisions.
Finally, few studies have assessed the influence of cultural vari -
ables, such as acculturation, on Hispanics’ career-related
behaviors
(Arbona, 1995).
One notable exception to the research described above was a
study investigating the educational plans and career
expectations
of Mexican American high school girls (McWhirter, Hackett, &
Bandalos, 1998). McWhirter and her colleagues studied the
utility
of Farmer’s (1985) model of career commitment and aspirations
in
explaining the educational planning and career expectations of
Mexican American adolescent women. They extended Farmer’s
model by including acculturation and perceived barriers in their
theoretical models. The results of this study indicated that their
models described the educational and career plans of a sample
of

59. Mexican American girls; however, only a modest amount of
vari-
ance was accounted for by the models. Thus, McWhirter et al.
encouraged researchers to include additional variables when de -
veloping future models of the career development of Mexican
American adolescent women. Moreover, McWhirter et al. sug-
gested that Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s (1994) social cognitive
career theory had promise for advancing knowledge regarding
the
career development of Mexican American women.
Lent and his colleagues (Lent et al., 1994) extended Bandura’s
(1986) social cognitive theory and Hackett and Betz’s (1981)
career self-efficacy theory to develop a social cognitive career
theory (SCCT) that hypothesized the influence of personal, con-
textual, and social cognitive factors on interest formation,
career
goals, and performance. Of interest in this study are the
proposi-
tions of SCCT that background contextual variables exert an
influence on career self-efficacy, which in turn directly
influences
career interests. In addition, Lent et al. posited that career
interests
directly influence career goals and that career self-efficacy both
directly and indirectly (through career interests) influences
career
goals. Finally, proximal contextual variables were hypothesized
to
exert direct effects on career goals (see Figure 1). Lent and his
colleagues suggested that SCCT may be used to guide inquiry
on
the career development of women and racial/ethnic minorities,
and
they recently advocated for more research to test the hypotheses
related to the contextual variables in their model (Lent, Brown,

60. &
Figure 1. Portions of Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s (1994) model
of career choice tested in the present study.
15MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN
Hackett, 2000). Recent studies provided partial support for the
model with racially diverse middle school students (Fouad &
Smith, 1996) as well as Asian American (Tang, Fouad, & Smith,
1999) and Black college students (Gainor & Lent, 1998);
however,
no studies to date have investigated the validity of SCCT with
Mexican American adolescent women.
To test this theory, when operationalizing the constructs ad-
vanced by Lent et al. (1994), we selected variables that were
hypothesized to be salient for racial/ethnic minorities or
women.
Specifically, in our model, we operationalized background
contex-
tual variables to include acculturation level, feminist attitudes,
and
mothers’ modeling through educational attainment and occupa-
tion. Multicultural researchers have identified the importance of
examining within-group differences of racial and ethnic sub-
groups, and Casas and Pytluk (1995) discussed acculturation as
one variable that differentiates Hispanic subgroups or
individuals
within a subgroup. Moreover, McWhirter et al. (1998) noted
that
acculturation was the only variable that they added to Farmer’s
(1985) model that accounted for significant variance i n the edu-
cational aspirations of Mexican American girls. Other

61. researchers
also documented that acculturation was positively related to
edu-
cational aspirations (Ramos & Sanchez, 1995), in addition to
interest in nontraditional careers (Reyes et al., 1999), college
attendance (Hurtado & Gauvain, 1997), and achievement styles
(Gomez & Fassinger, 1994) among Hispanic students.
Other variables, specifically feminist and gender role attitudes,
have been shown to relate to the career choices of young women
(Betz, 1994; O’Brien & Fassinger, 1993), such that women with
traditional gender role attitudes exhibited lower levels of career
orientation and aspiration than women holding liberal gender
role
attitudes. Among Mexican American girls, nontraditional gender
role attitudes were positively related to higher levels of
educational
and career expectations (McWhirter et al., 1998) and academic
achievement (Valenzuela, 1993; Vasquez-Nuttal, Romero-
Garcia,
& De Leon, 1987). For Mexican American women, cultural ex-
pectations about gender roles may result in traditional gender
role
attitudes or nonfeminist attitudes (Ginorio, Gutierrez, Cauce, &
Acosta, 1995; Reid, Haritos, Kelly, & Holland, 1995), which in
turn may contribute to lower levels of career achievement.
In addition, parental factors, such as occupation and educational
level, were found to relate to academic achievement and
parental
involvement in Mexican American students’ educational and ca-
reer planning (Keith & Lichtman, 1994). With regard to the
influence of mothers, having a mother who attended college was
predictive of college attendance and persistence among Latinas
(Cardoza, 1991). However, other studies that assessed the role
of

62. parents’ educational or occupational attainment in children’s
edu-
cational and career aspirations reported no relation (Fisher &
Padmawidjaja, 1999; Hernandez et al., 1994; Hess & D’Amato,
1996; Lango, 1995; Reyes et al., 1999), possibly because of the
highly skewed number of parents with lower educational and
occupational levels in these samples. The influence of mothers’
educational level and occupational traditionality were included
in
the present study to determine their influence on daughters’
career
development.
According to SCCT, these background variables were hypoth-
esized to influence nontraditional career self-efficacy or confi-
dence in pursuing nontraditional career-related tasks for women
(Lent et al., 1994). In turn, nontraditional career self-efficacy
should exert a direct effect on both nontraditional career
interests
and career goals (i.e., career choice prestige, career choice
tradi-
tionality, and career aspirations). Indeed, these relations have
been
supported in prior studies, which reported that career self-
efficacy
was related to career interests and careers considered among
Hispanic students (Bores-Rangel, Church, Szendre, & Reeves,
1990; Church, Teresa, Rosebrook, & Szendre, 1992; Lauver &
Jones, 1991). In addition, research has shown that career
interests
were related to careers considered among Hispanic students
(Bores-Rangel et al., 1990; Church et al., 1992). These findings
were consistent with SCCT, which posited a direct link between
career interests and career goals.

63. We also hypothesized, in accordance with SCCT (Lent et al.,
1994), that the proximal contextual variables of perceived
support
from parents and perceptions of barriers will influence career
choice prestige, traditionality, and career aspirations. Among
Lati-
nas, encouragement and emotional support from families have
been found to be predictive of educational achievement
(Hernan-
dez et al., 1994; Keith & Lichtman, 1994; Ramos & Sanchez,
1995) and college attendance (Vasquez, 1982; Wycoff, 1996).
With regard to perceived barriers, Hispanic students reported
ex-
periencing more barriers to education than students from other
racial/ethnic groups (Luzzo, 1992; McWhirter, 1997), and Mexi -
can American women who experienced negative family attitudes
related to their college attendance were more likely to attend
college close to home (Wycoff, 1996). McWhirter et al. (1998)
found no relation among perceived barriers and Mexican Ameri -
can girls’ educational or career plans. However, they suggested
that the influence of perceived barriers on academic and
vocational
goals be further tested with additional samples. It is possible
that
Mexican American adolescent women’s increased levels of per -
ceived barriers to their educational or career goals may alter
their
decision making, such that they plan to pursue careers that
present
the least resistance.
In summary, this study was designed to test several tenets of
SCCT (Lent et al., 1994) with a sample of Mexican American
adolescent women. Specifically, we explored the influence of
background contextual variables, namely, acculturation level,
fem-

64. inist attitudes, mother’s educational level, and mother’s occupa-
tional traditionality on nontraditional career self-efficacy. Addi-
tionally, we investigated the contributions of nontraditional
career
self-efficacy, nontraditional career interests, parental support,
and
perceived barriers to career choice prestige, career choice tradi -
tionality, and career aspirations. These dependent variables
were
selected because of their importance to women’s career
develop-
ment (Fitzgerald, Fassinger, & Betz, 1995; O’Brien &
Fassinger,
1993). A secondary purpose of this study was to obtain
descriptive
information regarding participants’ demographic characteristics,
career choices, plans following high school graduation, choice
of
colleges/universities, and reasons for choosing these schools,
given the lack of data regarding this population and their career
plans.
Method
Participants
Participants were Mexican American adolescent women enrolled
in their
senior year of high school. At the same time, Mexican American
adoles-
16 FLORES AND O’BRIEN
cent men were surveyed for a later study. Participants were

65. drawn from two
large public high schools in a mid-sized town (a population of
approxi-
mately 30,000) in south Texas. The community is close to the
United
States–Mexican border and is heavily influenced by the
Mexican culture.
A high percentage of U.S. citizens who are of Mexican descent
live in this
area, and this is reflected in the student population at the high
schools, in
which almost 95% of the students are Mexican American.
A total of 931 surveys were distributed to students; 831 were
returned
(450 female, 381 male), resulting in an 89% overall return rate.
Women
who were in their senior year of high school and who identified
as Mexican
American were included in this study (n � 377). Of these
women, 13 were
dropped from the study because of incomplete data, resulting in
a total
sample of 364. Participants ranged in age from 16 to 21 years
with a mean
age of 17.47 (SD � 0.70). The average number of people living
at home
was 4.83 (SD � 1.71; range � 2 to 13).
Eighteen percent of the students (n � 65) reported that they
were
first-generation Mexican American, with 37.9% (n � 138)
second gener-
ation, 11.3% (n � 41) third generation, 19.2% (n � 70) fourth
generation,
and 10.7% (n � 39) fifth generation. With regard to

66. acculturation level,
17% (n � 61) were categorized as “very Mexican oriented,”
38% (n �
138) “Mexican oriented to approximately balanced bicultural,”
34% (n �
123) “slightly Anglo oriented bicultural,” 10% (n � 37)
“strongly Anglo
oriented,” and 1% (n � 5) “very assimilated, Anglicized.”
The educational level of the female and male head of household,
respectively, was as follows: completed elementary school, 24%
and 21%;
attended high school, 25% and 23%; high school graduate, 19%
and 21%;
attended college/university, 14% and 12%; college/university
graduate,
10% and 12%; and graduate or professional degree, 2% and 1%.
Eighty-seven percent (n � 317) of the students planned to
attend a 2- or
4-year college/university following their high school
graduation, with the
remaining students indicating plans to attend technical school
(5.5%), work
(3.2%), enlist in the military (2.1%), and marry or stay at home
(0.5%).
Among students with intentions to continue their education at a
2- or 4-year
college/university, almost half (43.2%, n � 137) reported that
they would
work either full time (1.9%, n � 6) or part time (41.3%, n �
131). Over
a third (39.1%, n � 124) planned to attend the local 4-year
university,
and 19.2% (n � 61) planned to attend the local 2-year
community college.

67. The most often cited reasons for choosing to attend the college
or univer-
sity of their choice were because it was close to home and
family (36.5%,
n � 116), had a good program of study (10.7%, n � 34), was a
good
college/university (6.9%, n � 22), and was affordable or
inexpensive to
attend (4.1%, n � 13). Sixty-eight percent (n � 214) indicated
that they
would rely on financial aid (e.g., loans, grants, and work study)
to finance
their education, whereas 31.5% (n � 100) hoped to earn
scholar-
ships, 26.5% (n � 84) planned to receive financial support from
their
parents or other family members, and 25% (n � 78) planned to
work.
Procedure
Data collection occurred during the fall semester of the school
year.
Student participation was solicited through English IV classes
because
every senior was required to enroll in this class. Data collection
occurred
across 4 days, and Lisa Y. Flores met with every English IV
section (n �
46) at both schools. English teachers escorted their students to a
central
room at the beginning of the class period and stayed to monitor
students’
behaviors.
Packets containing an informed-assent form, an entry form for

68. cash
prizes, and the research instruments were distributed to students
as they
entered the room. The questionnaires were counterbalanced to
avoid order
effects from fatigue. Participants were told that the investigator
was inter-
ested in studying the career development of Mexican American
adoles-
cents. Students were told that it would take them most, if not
all, of the
class period to complete the questionnaires and were
encouraged to work
quickly. The investigator told the students that two of the
surveys looked
very similar (each listed the same occupations and educational
programs),
but these surveys asked students to rate either interests or skills.
Students
were informed of a possible follow-up study and were invited to
participate
in future studies. As an incentive to participate in the study,
students who
completed and returned the surveys were eligible for a random
drawing for
cash prizes (10 prizes for $20 and 1 prize for $50).
Instruments
Acculturation level. The Acculturation Rating Scale for
Mexican
Americans (ARSMA–II; Cuellar, Arnold, & Maldonado, 1995)
was a
30-item scale that assessed association with and identity with
the Mexican

69. and Anglo cultures on two independent subscales. Participants
responded
to the items using a 5-point scale ranging from not at all (1) to
extremely
often or almost always (5). An acculturation score was
calculated by
subtracting the mean score for items on the Anglo Orientation
Subscale
(AOS) from the mean score for items on the Mexican
Orientation Subscale
(MOS). On the basis of their acculturation score, participants
were cate-
gorized into one of the five acculturation levels described by
Cuellar et al.
(1995). Levels range from very Mexican oriented (1) to very
assimilated
(5). Middle categories represented bicultural individuals. Thus,
high scores
were indicative of a strong orientation toward the Anglo
culture.
The ARSMA–II, as well as prior to its revision, the ARSMA, is
one of
the most widely used measures to assess acculturation among
Mexican
Americans, and evidence suggests that it is a reliable and valid
instrument.
Adequate internal consistency coefficients have been reported
for the two
subscales with multiple samples (range from .79 to .83 for the
AOS and .87
to .91 for the MOS; Cuellar et al., 1995; Cuellar & Roberts,
1997;
Lessenger, 1997). Reliability coefficients of .77 for the AOS
and .91 for the
MOS were obtained in the present study.

70. Cuellar and his colleagues also reported a test–retest reliability
estimate
for the AOS and MOS over a 2-week interval of .94 and .96,
respectively.
Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing scores on the
ARSMA–II
with scores on the ARSMA and yielded a correlation coefficient
of .89.
Concurrent validity for the ARSMA–II was further supported
when its two
subscales correlated in the expected direction with the dominant
group and
ethnic group subscales of the Stephenson Multigroup
Acculturation Scale
(Stephenson, 2000). Lessenger (1997) provided additional
support for
concurrent validity when she reported that acculturation scores
on the
ARSMA–II correlated positively with other acculturation
measures. Con-
struct validity was supported when acculturation scores on the
ARSMA–II
were compared across generations, and differences were found
between
generation levels in the expected directions (Cuellar et al.,
1995; Lessen-
ger, 1997).
Feminist attitudes. The Attitudes Toward Feminism and the
Women’s
Movement Scale (FWM; Fassinger, 1994) was used to measure
feminist
attitudes. The FWM is a 10-item scale that assessed attitudes
about the
feminist movement. Participants rated their agreement with the

71. items along
a 5-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly
agree (5).
Scale scores were obtained by averaging the items; high scores
reflect
profeminist attitudes.
Fassinger (1994) reported that the FWM had high internal
consistency
(� � .89), and O’Brien and Fassinger (1993) reported an
internal reliability
coefficient of .82 for the FWM with a sample of adolescent
women.
Cronbach’s alpha for this sample was .68. Enns and Hackett
(1990)
reported a 2-week test–retest reliability coefficient of .81 with
female
college students. Convergent validity for the FWM was
supported when the
FWM was positively correlated with measures assessing
attitudes toward
women, gender roles, and feminism (Enns & Hackett, 1990;
Fassinger,
1994). In addition, the FWM correlated positively with items
assessing
feminist identification and favorability toward the women’s
movement
(Fassinger, 1994). Finally, Enns and Hackett (1990) reported
that the FWM
correlated in the expected directions with both interest and
involvement in
feminist activities. Divergent validity estimates revealed that
the FWM was
17MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN

72. not measuring gender role characteristics, dogmatism, and
social desirabil-
ity (Fassinger, 1994).
Mother’s level of education. A single item asked participants to
indi-
cate the highest level of education completed by their mother.
Options
ranged from elementary school to graduate/professional school.
High
scores represented high levels of education.
Mother’s occupational traditionality. An item asked participants
to
indicate their mother’s occupation, which was later categorized
according
to traditionality. Traditionality of mother’s career was
computed on the
basis of the percentage of women employed in a given career
and was
obtained through the Statistical Abstract of the United States
(1998), a
publication of the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The U.S. Census
Bureau
relies on information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
and Em-
ployment and Earnings to report these data. Scores ranged from
6 to 99,
with high scores representing careers with high concentrations
of women.
This indicator of career orientation has been used in previous
studies of
women’s career development (O’Brien, 1996; O’Brien &
Fassinger, 1993;

73. O’Brien, Friedman, Tipton, & Linn, 2000).
Nontraditional career self-efficacy. Self-efficacy expectations
with re-
gard to nontraditional occupations were assessed using a short
form of the
occupational self-efficacy questionnaire used by Church et al.
(1992). The
self-efficacy questionnaire used in this study was comparable
with career
self-efficacy measures used by Betz and Hackett (1981) and
Lauver and
Jones (1991). The original occupational questionnaire contained
a total
of 31 occupations for which participants rated their confidence
in their
ability to successfully learn to perform the job. The
nontraditional career
self-efficacy scale used for this study was modified to include
seven
male-dominated occupations (e.g., electronic equipment
repairer, police
officer, mechanical engineer). Occupations were categorized
according to
the percentage of women in the occupation according to U.S.
census data
(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1998). A brief description of the
occupation
was provided for each job title.
Participants were asked to rate their confidence in their ability
and skills
to successfully learn to do the jobs. Participants responded to
the items
using a scale ranging from very unsure (1) to very sure (4).
Although

74. studies typically use 5-point scales to measure strength of self-
efficacy, we
followed the reasoning of Bores-Rangel et al. (1990), whose
sample
predominantly consisted of Hispanic students, that students may
depend-
ably and meaningfully discriminate these four bipolar levels.
Occupational
self-efficacy scores for male-dominated occupations were
obtained by
averaging the responses to the items. High scores reflected
strong levels of
nontraditional career self-efficacy.
Church et al. (1992) reported an …