Cross-Cultural Equivalence of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form: An Australian and South African Comparison

Abstract

The present study examined the reliability, content and construct validity, and cultural equivalence of the short form of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (CDMSE-SF). In response to calls to conduct studies using the measure with high school-age samples, data were gathered from two samples of high school students, one from Australia and one from South Africa. The findings were in accord with earlier studies in that they failed to find five factors. Three factors were found with each sample; however, these factors were different in each sample and different from those reported in samples of U.S. college students, suggesting cross-cultural differences in the construct. The authors suggest that a more parsimonious version of the CDMSE-SF is possible, the CDMSE-SF does not adequately reflect its theoretical origins, and cultural equivalence cannot be assumed.