Coping efficacy to overcome educational and career -related barriers in African American women: An examination of the relations among coping-efficacy, spirituality, maternal influence, and social class variables

The career development literature consistently has neglected to attend to the vocational behavior of African American women. Coping efficacy is considered to be an important concept to the career development of African American women. However, there have been few empirical research studies that examined this construct. In synthesizing the extant literature regarding African American women, the cultural variables of spirituality and maternal influence, and the social class variables of educational level and income, have all been considered important variables which may affect the career development of African American women. Using the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) as a theoretical framework, this study explored the relationship between the coping efficacy beliefs of African American women and these cultural and social class variables. Three research hypotheses were developed and tested with a diverse sample of 105 African American women.;Results from multiple linear regression analyses indicated that spirituality accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in coping efficacy independent of maternal influence and the social class variables of educational level and income. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed, emphasizing that the cultural variable of spirituality may be more important than family influence or social class variables for African American women.;There appears to be a need for a theoretical framework that will maintain a culturally sensitive perspective when working with African American women. Additional research is needed which examines cultural variables that may impact the career development of African American women.