Cindy Miller-Perrin Don Thompson Research Conference on Religion and Spirituality

1. VOCATION AS CALLING: THE ROLE OF GENDER IN VOCATIONAL DISCERNMENT AND ACTION AMONG FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS Cindy Miller-Perrin Don Thompson Research Conference on Religion and Spirituality Division 36 – APA – Baltimore, Maryland April 1, 2005

2. Religion and Higher Education • Higher Education traditionally separates academic and religious pursuits. • Commitment to scientific or research-based approaches to knowledge. • Lack of theoretical attention to faith and spirituality in terms of student development.

3. Faith and Spirituality • More recent attention to faith and spiritual development among college students. • Higher Education’s mission addresses the whole person (Stamm, 2004). • Most college students interested in religious and spiritual matters (Young & Young, 2003).

4. College Student Development • College years are “critical years” in development (Parks, 2000). • College years marked by change in individual self and religious self (Lee, 2002).

5. Vocational Development • College students consider issues associated with personal identity, faith beliefs, and career options. • Higher education should help students discover and pursue their vocational callings (Crosby, 2004; Dalton, 2001). • Little empirical work examines the nature and development of vocational calling.

6. Research Hypotheses • Vocational Development is the intersection of Faith Development and Identity Development. • Faith and Vocational Development are significantly correlated for all students. • Men and Women discern and act upon vocational calling differently. • Barriers to vocational discernment and action differ by gender.

7. Method • Participants: 190 first-year college students. • Private, Christian Liberal Arts • 55% female; 45% male • Age range 18-20 years (M= 18.66) • 3% African American; 13% Asian; 72% Caucasian; 10% Latino

8. Measures • Faith Attitudes and Behaviors • Vocational Discernment and Action • Vocational Barriers

9. Faith Attitudes and Behaviors

10. Vocational Discernment and Action

11. Vocational Barriers

12. Procedures • Random sample of 300 students recruited from the 2002 entering class for Web survey. Response rate: 68%. • Most survey items required Likert response using a 5-point scale ranging from “not at all” to “very much”. • Participants received convocation credit for their participation.

13. Results • Strong Relationship Between Faith and Vocation • Significant Gender Differences • Faith Attitudes and Behaviors • Vocational Discernment and Action • Vocational Barriers

14. Correlations between Faith and Vocation Scores Faith Total Belief Behavior Application Vocation Total .49** .36** .45** .51** Discern .30* .27** .25** .33** Service .49** .31** .48** .48** **p<.01, *p<.05

15. Gender Differences in Faith Attitudes & Behaviors

16. Application of Faith Scores

17. Gender Differences for Individual Application of Faith Items • I try hard to carry my religious beliefs into all other dealings in my life. • I look to God for strength, support, and guidance.

18. Faith Behavior Scores

19. Gender Differences for Individual Faith Behavior Items • Taking part in activities and organizations of church or place of worship • Frequency of prayer • Finding strength and comfort in religion or faith • Feeling God’s love directly or through others • Awareness of God’s presence

20. Strength of Belief Scores

21. Gender Differences in Vocational Discernment and Action

22. Service Scores

23. Gender Differences for Individual Service Items • Plan to enter career that emphasizes service to others • Feel a deep sense of responsibility for reducing pain and suffering in world • Motivated to choose career that enables to provide service to others rather than career with financial rewards or power and prestige

24. Discernment Scores

25. Gender Differences in Vocational Barriers

26. Personal Barriers Scores

27. Gender Differences for Individual Personal Barriers Items • Fear • Emotional Problems • Self-doubt • Need for personal control over life • Need to feel secure and safe

28. Interpersonal Barriers Scores

29. Gender Differences for Individual Interpersonal Barriers Items • Perception that parents prevent females from fulfilling life purpose

30. Social and Cultural Barriers Scores

31. Gender Differences for Individual Social and Cultural Barriers Items • Lack of financial resources • Societal gender stereotypes impose limits

32. Conclusions • The current study provides: • First empirical work to examine characteristics of vocational development in a college student sample. • The current study provides support for theoretical propositions previously described in the literature.

33. Conclusions • Faith attitudes and behaviors are strongly associated with vocational discernment and action. • This relationship is consistent across gender. It holds true for males as well as females.

34. Conclusions • Faith expression varies by gender. • Application of Faith • Females view their Faith as impacting their whole lives. • Faith Behavior • Females are more likely to practice the habits of faithful and religious life.

35. Conclusions • Vocational discernment and action varies by gender. • Females more likely to plan careers of service and to feel called to alleviate pain and suffering in the world.

36. Conclusions • Experiences with barriers to vocational action vary by gender. • Females perceive a greater number of barriers in fulfilling their life purpose: • Personal • Interpersonal • Societal