exploration to foster career development

Exploration to FosterCareer Development

SpencerG.NilesWalter P. Anderson, Jr.

Gary Goodnough

Responses to the Adult Career Concerns Inventory (ACCI: Super, Thompson,Lindeman, Myers, & Jordaan, 1988) were organized through cluster analysisto identify different ways in which adults use exploratory behavior to cope withcareer development tasks. Significant differences in life-role salience amongthe types of adult career explorers identified were also investigated. Findingsindicated a variety of ways in which adults use exploratory behavior. However,no significant differences were found in life-role salience among the types ofcareer explorers. The discussion explains how career counselors can interprettheir clients' ACCI profiles to select appropriate career interventions.

Achieving readiness for career decision making requires thoroughexploration (Super, 1957). Many people associate exploration withadolescents who are at the preimplementation stage of career development. However, exploration continues throughout the life span.

Exploration has come to be expected not only in adults who are changingcareer directions, but also in adults who are responding to the demandsof progressing in the career they have chosen and in which they may wishto remain. (Phillips, 1982, p. 130)

Despite these expectations, few studies have examined how adultsuse exploration to foster their career development.

Super (1983) noted that exploration involves learning more aboutoneselfor one's situation. What needs to be learned depends, in part,on the individual's developmental status and salient life roles (Super, 1983). In turn, these developmental tasks and salient roles determine which exploratory resources (e.g., mentors, peers, printedsources of occupational information, training programs) might beuseful. Thus, developmental career counselors must help adult eli-

Spencer G. Niles is an associate professor, and Walter P. Anderson, Jr., is a doctoral student, both in the Department of Counselor Education at the University ofVirginia, Charlottesville. GaryGoodnough is an assistant professor at Plymouth State College,Plymouth, New Hampshire. Correspondence regarding this articleshould be sent to Spencer G. Niles, 168 Ruffner Hall, University ofVirginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (e-mail: nileseoirginia.edu).

262 THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY / MARCH 1998/ VOL. 46

ents both to articulate the questions they ask about selfand situation and to use exploratory resources effectively (Niles, 1996).

To accomplish these goals, career counselors can identify the different ways adults use exploration to cope with their career concerns. Ifthe diverse types of uses to which adults put exploratory behaviorcan be identified, then career counselors can devise career interventions to enhance the effectiveness of their clients' exploration.

Because exploratory behavior occurs in the context of life-role participation, it is also important to understand the relationship between life-role salience and career exploration in adulthood. In examining the relationship between career exploration and life-rolesalience, researchers have focused on high school and college studentpopulations (e.g., Bachiochi, 1993; Enzor, 1991; Nevill & Super, 1988;Super & Nevill, 1984). However, it is important to determine whethera relationship exists between how adults use exploratory behaviorand the life roles that are important to them. Having this information can help career counselors devise career interventions that arerelevant to their clients' salient life roles.

This study investigated how adults use exploration to cope withcareer development tasks. Specifically, we asked the following tworesearch questions. Are there distinct patterns in how adults useexploration to cope with the tasks of the establishment, maintenance, and disengagement career stages? Are there differences inlife-role salience for the types of patterns identified in question one?

METHOD

Participants

Adult career counseling clients at a university-sponsored community counseling service participated in this study. All participants(N = 131,95 women and 36 men) completed the Adult Career Concerns Inventory (ACCI; Super, Thompson, Lindeman, Myers, &Jordaan, 1988). Eighty-eight of the participants also completed theSalience Inventory (SI; Super & Nevill, 1986) as part of the intakesession. To study adult career explorers, the participants selectedfor study participation indicated a high concern for the career development tasks of the exploration stage, operationally defined as ascore of3.5 or greater on the ACCI Exploration Scale.

The mean age for the study participants was 34.97, with a rangefrom 24 to 51 years old. Ofthe 131 adults, 83 responded to questionsabout their highest level of educational attainment. Of these, 10%were high school graduates, 20% completed some college, 41% graduated from college, 12% attended graduate school, and 17% attaineda graduate degree. Fifty-nine percent were employed full-time, 23%were unemployed, 7% were employed part-time, and 11% did notreport employment status.

Measures

We used the ACCI to measure participants' concern for the developmental tasks ofthe exploration, establishment, maintenance, and

THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY / MARCH 1998/ VOL. 46 263

disengagement career stages. In each of the four career stages, threetasks are measured by 5-item scales resulting in 12 scales and 60items. Scores for the 3 task scales are summed to obtain a score foreach of the four career stages. Levels of concern in the ACCI aremeasured on a 5-point Likert scale with a rating of 1 = no concern,2 = little concern, 3 = some concern, 4 = considerable concern, and5 =great concern.

Support for the validity of the ACCI has been demonstrated bystudies conducted with corporate and academic employees (Cron &Slocum, 1986; Mahoney, 1986). A study by Halpin, Ralph, and Halpin(1990) reported alpha reliability coefficients of .95, .95, .94, and .93for the Exploration, Establishment, Maintenance, and Disengagement scales, respectively. The Cronbach alpha coefficients for theparticipants in the current study were .94, .95, .96, and .94 for theExploration, Establishment, Maintenance, and Disengagement scales,respectively.

We used the SI to measure the relative importance oflife roles inthe areas of study, work, community activities, home and family,and leisure. The SI is a 170-item inventory that assesses three dimensions of role importance (Participation, Commitment, and Values Expectations) for each life role. The 50-item Participation Scaleasks "what you actually do or have done recently" in each of the liferoles. The second dimension measured by the SI, the CommitmentScale, also consists of 50 items and assess attitudes toward the liferoles by asking "how you feel about" them. The third scale, ValuesExpectations, consists of70 items and assesses the degree to whichlife satisfactions or values are expected to be found in each of the liferoles. Nevill and Super (1986) reported test-retest correlations between.81 and .94 for a sample of college students, and .82 to .95 for a sampleofadults. In the current study, Cronbach alphas for the SI scales werebetween .80 and .92. The SI also has demonstrated adequate content,construct, and concurrent validity (Nevill & Super, 1986).

Data Analysis

Research Question 1 focused on whether there are distinct patternsin how adults use exploration to cope with the tasks of the establishment, maintenance, and disengagement career stages. We used clusteranalysis to identify subgroups of adults on the basis of their responses to items on the Establishment, Maintenance, and Disengagement scales of the ACCl.

Cluster analysis is a general name for a group of statistical procedures, each of which is used to identify groups of similar cases (i.e.,clusters) among a total sample of many cases (Aldenderfer &Blashfield, 1984). Cluster analysis procedures differ in the way calculations of distances between clusters are made and in the waysclusters are formed. We chose to use Ward's method because of itswide use in social science research and because of its greater accuracy compared with other cluster analysis procedures (Blashfield,1976; Savickas & Jarjoura, 1991). Ward's method uses the squaredEuclidean distance as the similarity measure on which cluster formation is based. We used the Statistical Package for the Social Sci-


ences (SPSS) Procedure Cluster for our analyses (Norusis, 1985).Research Question 2 focused on identifying differences in life role

salience for the clusters of adult career explorers identified in Question 1. To detennine the effects of cluster membership we performedseparate multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) using the 15SI scale scores as dependent measures and cluster membership in theseven- and three-cluster solutions, respectively, as independent classification variables. We used the Pillai's trace test statistic forevaluating multivariate differences because of its relative robustnessand power (Norusis, 1985) and selected a significance level ofp =.05 against which to compare the probability of the correspondingapproximateF statistic.

RESULTS

Research Question 1

The within-group-sums-of-squares for the fmal19 stages of the clusteranalysis of the ACC1 scores was examined. The first large increase(30) in the within-group-sums-of-squares occurred when the solution decreased from seven to six clusters. Another large increase(104) occurred when the solution decreased from three to two clusters. Savickas and Jarjoura (1991) noted that such increases indicate "that the two clusters that were combined at that step shouldremain distinct clusters and the cluster solution ofthe prior step isanalyzed further" (p. 85). Thus, we chose to focus our attention onthe results of the seven- and three-cluster solutions.

Figure 1 illustrates the process through which the three-clustersolution derives from the seven-cluster solution. Clusters 1a tn =

Cluster No. = la

Cluster No. = IbI

Cluster No. = Ie

Cluster No. = 23 II 2

Cluster No. = 2b

Cluster No. = 3a3

Cluster No. = 3b

o 200 400 600 800 1000Within-Cluster Sums of Squares

FIGURE 1

1200

Dendogram: Successive Merging of Seven-Cluster Solution


25), Ib (n = 23), lc (n = 7), 2a (n = 14), 2b (n = 19), 3a (n = 21), and3b (n = 22) constitute the seven-cluster solution. At a within-cluster-sum-of-squares value of 444, Clusters la and Ib merge into asingle cluster (n = 48). The product of that merger and Clusters lc,2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, and 3c constitute the six-cluster solution. At a sumof-squares value of 486, Clusters 3a and 3b merge into Cluster 3 (n= 43). Cluster 3 and the remaining clusters constitute the five-cluster solution. At a sum-of-squares value of 540, Clusters 2a and 2bmerge into Cluster 2 (n = 33) to create the four-cluster solution. Ata sum-of-squares value of 597, Cluster lc merges with the previously merged Clusters la and Ib to make up Cluster 1 (n = 55).Clusters 1,2, and 3 constitute the three-cluster solution.

Tables 1 and 2 display the means and standard deviations of theclusters comprising the three- and seven-cluster solutions, respectively. In the following discussion, we first describe and label theclusters from the three-cluster solution. Then we describe how theclusters in the seven-cluster solution related to the three clusters.The demographic data for the three- and seven-cluster solutions areprovided in Table 3.

Inspection ofthe means for the three-cluster solution suggests thatthe study participants use exploratory behavior in three major ways.Members of Cluster 1 seem to be using exploration to improve theircareers while staying in place in the same organization and field.Members of Cluster 2 seem to be using exploration for the purpose ofreexploring new roles either through career recycling or reentry.Last, members of Cluster 3 seem to be using exploration to find opportunities to innovate and become up-to-date in their occupations.

Cluster 1. Cluster 1 was the largest cluster (n = 55) in the three-

TABLE 1

Means and Standard Deviations forThreeTypes of Clusters forAdult Career Concerns Inventory Scores

Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3Multiple-Stage Exploration- Moderately-

Concerned Focused Concerned Total(n =55) (n =33) (n =43) (n =131)

Task M SD M SD M SD M SD

4 4.01 .75 2.61 .60 3.39 .77 3.45 .915 3.98 .69 2.25 .58 3.21 .39 3.29 .906 4.14 .64 2.02 .67 3.02 .49 3.24 1.047 3.71 .64 1.92 .68 2.73 .56 2.94 .968 4.07 .64 2.08 .83 3.12 .71 3.26 1.079 4.22 .55 2.47 .85 3.45 .53 3.53 .94

10 3.42 .85 2.04 .86 2.55 .59 2.79 .9611 3.17 .95 2.33 .75 2.17 .70 2.63 .9412 3.57 .92 2.59 1.03 2.34 .85 2.92 1.08

Note. ACCI task numbers are the following: 4 = Stabilizing. 5 = Consolidating. 6 =Advancing. 7 = Holding. 8 = Updating. 9 = Innovating. 10 = Decelerating. 11 =Retirement Planning, 12 = Retirement liVing.

266 THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY/ MARCH 1998/ VOl. 46

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TABLE 3

Demographic Data for theThree and Seven Clusters for AdultCareer Concerns Inventory Scores

Age Sex(years) (%)

Cluster n M SD Male Female

Three-cluster solution(N= 131)1 55 37.17 8.12 23.64 76.362 33 34.06 6.49 27.27 72.733 43 34.00 6.94 33.33 66.67

Seven-cluster solution(N = 131)1a 25 40.42 7.19 24.00 76.002a 14 33.57 7.44 42.86 57.141b 23 36.32 8.01 30.43 69.572b 19 34.44 5.83 15.79 84.211c 7 28.71 4.54 0 100.003a 21 32.85 6.73 19.05 80.953b 22 35.15 7.13 47.62 52.38

cluster solution and comprised 42% of the sample. Cluster 1 alsocontained a larger number of women (n = 42) and slightly oldermembers (M =37 years of age) than Clusters 2 and 3.

Members of Cluster 1 expressed high concern for all career development tasks except Decelerating and Retirement Planning. However,even for these tasks members of Cluster 1 expressed some concern(3.42 and 3.17, respectively). Based on their highly elevated ACCIscores, we concluded that members of Cluster 1 were using exploration to stay in place in some way. That is, they seemed to be usingexploration to cope with current organizational demands--either tomaintain, innovate, or advance in their current positions. The threesubclusters for Cluster 1 provide more specific information concerning the ways in which members of Cluster 1 were using exploration.

Members of Cluster 1a represented 19%(n =25) of the total sampleand their mean age (40.42) was the highest for any cluster. Cluster1a members (76% of whom were women) expressed high concern forall tasks, thereby demonstrating a flat profile of high elevation. Thus,we concluded that Cluster 1a comprised individuals who were exploring to maintain until retirement. That is, they were using exploration to maintain their current positions and prepare for life inretirement.

Because of their possible concern about their age and retirementliving, members of Cluster 1a may be seeking ways to become morecommitted to their current positions. If this is the case, then it islikely that career counseling would address the issue of career renewal (Murphy & Burck, 1976). Specifically, members of Cluster 1amay need to identify strategies for innovatively applying updatedskills in their current positions.


Also, because members of Cluster la may experience low worksatisfaction, they may need to identify opportunities for support andself-expression in life roles beyond work. For example, Judy (namesused to identify members ofclusters are not the real names), a memberof Cluster la in our study, entered career counseling expressingfeelings of isolation in her work as a director of a daycare center.During her intake session, she also expressed the need for encouragement and affirmation-in essence, she needed more social support.During her counseling, Judy decided to make more connections withothers outside of her work. Based on her interests, she decided tojoin a local hiking group. Beyond providing Judy with an enjoyableavocational activity, this group provided Judy with social supportand helped her to feel less isolated in her work as a daycare director.Bejian and Salomone (1995) have provided additional strategies forhelping clients achieve career renewal.

Members of Cluster Ib (70% of whom were women approximately36 years old) comprised 18% (n = 23) of the total sample. They expressed high concern for all establishment stage tasks, but theirstrongest concern was for Innovating (4.33). We viewed members ofthis cluster as exploring to innovate and establish. Specifically,they were exploring innovative ways to become established in theircurrent positions.

Members of Cluster Ib may need to identify new problems to workon, new skills to acquire, and new opportunities to pursue as theiroccupational fields develop. For example, Marie (a member ofCluster Ib) entered career counseling with the goal of identifying occupations that would allow her to connect her foreign language skills inFrench and Spanish with her recent employment as a child careworker. After exploring a variety of options, Marie decided to pursuegraduate study to become an ESL (English as a second language)instructor for children. Marie viewed this option as one that wouldallow her to become more innovative and established in her work.

Cluster lc was the smallest group in the seven-cluster solutionand comprised 5% (n = 7) of the sample. All members of Cluster lcwere women and their mean age (28.71) was the lowest for all clusters. Cluster lc members expressed high concern for all tasks related to the establishment and maintenance stages. Their highestconcerns were for Advancing and Updating (4.77 and 4.66, respectively). They expressed low concern for all disengagement stage tasks.Thus, Cluster lc members seemed to be exploring to advance. Specifically, they were using exploration to advance in their work andto learn about new developments in their current occupational fields.

Using exploration to advance was Cindy's goal when she enteredcareer counseling. Cindy, a member of Cluster lC, had most recently been working part-time as a caretaker for an elderly relative.Although she believed her work was meaningful, she also expressedfeelings of stagnation. With a bachelor's degree in theater, she sawfew opportunities for advancement in the helping professions. Aftercareer counseling that included completing interest and values inventories, Cindy decided to continue her part-time work and alsoenroll in a master's program in counselor education to increase heropportunities for advancement in the field ofcommunity agency coun-


seling. Thus, career counselors can help clients from Cluster lcidentify occupationally relevant skills they can develop and training opportunities they can pursue to enhance their opportunities forcareer advancement.

Cluster 2. Cluster 2 was the smallest group in the three-clustersolution comprising 25% (n = 33) of the sample. Members of Cluster2 expressed little concern for all but two career development tasksStabilizing and Retirement Living. However, even in these two instances their concern was only moderate (2.61 and 2.59, respectively). Thus, although members of Cluster 1 demonstrated highlyelevated ACCI score patterns, members of Cluster 2 had ACCI scoresthat were low in elevation. Clearly, members of Cluster 2 demonstrated a greater readiness to change roles when compared withmembers of Cluster 1. Specifically, members of Cluster 2 were using exploratory behavior for the purpose of either recycling into newoccupations or reentering the workforce.

Cluster 2a comprised 11% (n = 14) of the sample. The ACCI scoreprofile for members of Cluster 2a had low elevation indicating littleor no concern for all career development tasks beyond the exploration stage. This suggests that those in Cluster 2a were exploring torecycle. That is, they were using exploratory behavior to start overagain in new occupations. In this way, even though they were approximately 33 years old, members of Cluster 2a were similar toadolescents who were exploring for the first time.

Career counseling with clients from Cluster 2a could focus on clientsacquiring the selfand occupational information necessary for identifying appropriate occupational options. That is, members ofCluster 2a may need career counseling to develop readiness for careerdecision making. For these clients the focus may be on developingcareer maturity to become more career adaptable (Super, 1977).

The need to develop readiness for career decision making was evident in the case of Jennifer. Jennifer was 35 years old and had beenemployed as an attorney for 7 years by the time she entered careercounseling. During her intake session, Jennifer stated that she wantedto make a career change but was "afraid of making a bad choice."Jennifer also noted that she wanted to make a "fresh start" and thatshe felt the need to make a choice that would please her parents.Career counseling with Jennifer involved a combination of generalcounseling (directed toward facilitating her individuation from herparents) and career counseling (directed toward helping her increaseher self-knowledge, occupational knowledge, and decision-makingskills). Career counseling with Jennifer also focused on dispellingher irrational career beliefs (e.g., "I must make the perfect choice,""there is no job that will be satisfying to me"). By focusing on thebasic ingredients ofefTective career decision making, Jennifer eventually developed greater career maturity, made a new occupationalchoice, and became more career adaptable.

Cluster 2b comprised 14% (n =19) ofthe sample. Members ofCluster 2b expressed low-to-moderate concern for tasks across the establishment, maintenance, and disengagement career stages. Theirhighest ACCI score was for the task of Retirement Living. Cluster2b contained women who were approximately 34 years old. They


seemed to be exploring to reenter the world-of-work. We viewed themas being similar to women reentering the workforce because of theirage, their interest in exploring, and their concern with life in retirement. Perhaps after having raised a family, or having nearly completed raising a family, members of Cluster 2b wanted to make anoccupational choice that they could stick with and retire from.

This was the case for Wanda, who presented for career counseling1 year after her daughter entered college. Having worked in a variety ofjobs (e.g., head cook, organic gardener), Wanda now wanted toidentify an occupation that would be satisfying and that she couldstay with until she retired. Through examining her interests, values, and transferable skills, Wanda decided to start her own business in garden restoration.

Thus, career counseling with clients from Cluster 2b could focuson identifying values, interests, and transferable skills. Providingemotional and social support to these clients is also important asthey engage in the process of crystallizing and specifying an occupational choice in order to reenter the workforce.

Cluster 3. Cluster 3 comprised 33% (n =43) ofthe sample. Membersof Cluster 3 expressed moderate concern for all career developmenttasks beyond the exploration stage except for Retirement Planningand Retirement Living (for which they expressed low concern). Incomparison to Clusters 1 and 2, Cluster 3 members had moderatelyelevated ACCI scores. Therefore, we viewed members of Cluster 3 asexploring for the purpose of innovating. That is, they seemed interested in acquiring new ideas and then using these new ideas eitherin the same organization, a new organization, in the same occupational field, or in a new occupational field.

Two clusters from the seven-cluster solution merged to form Cluster 3. Cluster 3a comprised 16% (n = 21) ofthe sample and involveda group composed mostly of women (81%) approximately 33 yearsold. They expressed moderate concern for all establishment andmaintenance stage tasks and little concern for disengagement stagetasks. Their highest concern was for Innovating. Thus, Cluster 3amembers seemed to be exploring to innovate and move ahead. Specifically, they seemed interested in identifying new options and wereprobably willing, if required, to move to different organizations tohave a chance to try new things and break new ground.

Career counseling with clients from Cluster 3a could focus on identifying new problems and skills to work on and develop. Once identified, the focus of career counseling could then shift to identifyingopportunities for working on these new tasks. This was what occurred in the case of Kathy. Kathy had earned a bachelor's degreein English and was employed as a nanny and a preschool teacherwhen she entered career counseling. Although Kathy enjoyed teaching preschool, she wanted to identify options that would allow her tobelieve that she was "making progress" in her career. Kathyexplored by taking various courses at the local community college.Her academic experience rekindled her interest in English. Eventually, she decided to build on her bachelor's degree and develop herteaching skills. Specifically, Kathy chose to work toward becomingcertified as a secondary school English teacher.


Cluster 3b comprised 17% (n =22) of the sample and had the highest percentage (47.62%) of men among the clusters. Cluster 3b members expressed some concern for all tasks except two--Stabilizingand Innovating (3.72 and 3.54, respectively). This indicates that Cluster3b contained individuals seeking to make a place for themselves intheir work while also exploring new opportunities in their currentoccupational fields. They seemed to be exploring to innovatively stabilize. Essentially, they were using exploration to find new ways todo the old things. Unlike the members of Cluster 3a, members ofCluster 3b seemed more inclined to remain in their current occupations. This was the case for Susan, a member of Cluster 3b who hadworked as a nurse for 6 years at the time she presented for careercounseling. Having recently relocated and started a new job as anurse in a rehabilitation center, Susan stated that she wanted to"explore other options." As career counseling progressed, it becameclear that Susan was experiencing a lack of clarity concerning theperformance expectations and lines of authority in her current job.Exploring these issues, helped Susan decide that rather than changingoccupations, she was more interested in changing her place ofemployment. After additional careercounseling,Susan clarified what she wantedin her work situation. She then participated in several informationinterviews before deciding to apply for a nursing position at a localsubstance abuse treatment center. Thus, career counselors can helpindividuals from Cluster 3b acquire information about new developments and opportunities in their current occupational fields.

Research Question 2

In the second research question, we investigated whether there weredifferences in life role salience among the clusters of adult careerexplorers. Table 4 displays the sample means and standard deviations for the SI subscales. A MANOVA analysis of SI scores (n = 88)yielded no significant main effects for cluster membership in theseven-cluster solution (Pillai's = 1.31, approximate F [90,432] =1.12,p = .24) or for cluster membership in the three-cluster solution(Pillai's = .39, approximateF [30, 144] = 1.18,p = .26).

Although others (e.g., Jones & Chenery, 1980; Lucas & Epperson,1988) found relationships between being undecided about a careerand work salience, we found no significant differences in life rolesalience among the clusters of adults in our study. This is perhapsdue to the fact that, unlike the other studies cited, we limited thevariables ofinterest to career concerns and life role salience. Futureresearchers examining life role salience may find it useful to incorporate additional variables in their research (e.g., career decidedness,career decision-making self-efficacy, identity status).

DISCUSSION

Although researchers have examined career exploration in adolescence (e.g., Bachiochi, 1993; Enzor, 1991; Super & Nevill, 1984),there is a lack of research examining career exploration in adulthood(Phillips, 1982). In this study, we identified different ways adults


TABLE 4

Means and Standard Deviations of Salience Inventory Scores(N= 88)

Subscale

Participation in StudyingParticipation in WorkingParticipation in CommunityParticipation in Home and FamilyParticipation in LeisureCommitment in StudyingCommitment in WorkingCommitment in CommunityCommitment in Home and FamilyCommitment in LeisureValues Expectations in StudyingValues Expectations in WorkingValues Expectations in CommunityValues Expectations in Home and FamilyValues Expectation in Leisure

M

21.6027.7518.8027.1525.8027.3231.8525.4034.6330.9332.8540.3231.6441.9739.59

SD

6.935.116.295.395.647.524.707.005.776.259.138.008.868.307.99

use exploration to cope with various career development tasks. Someuse exploratory behavior to maintain their current positions whilethey focus on life in retirement, others use exploration to start overagain in new occupations, and still others use exploration to becomemore innovative either in their current positions or in new positions.

Thus, the results of the study help operationalize aspects of Super'scareer adaptability construct. The results also support Super andKnasel's (1981) contention that career adaptation parallels Piaget'smodel of adaptation based on the two processes of assimilation andaccommodation. That is, as adults cope with their changing work andworking conditions, adults make an impact on their environmentsand their environments make an impact on them. This study, then,provides a window for viewing adults as "responsible agents actingwithin dynamic environmental settings" to find ways to effectivelymanage their career development (Super & Knasel, 1981, p. 199).

The results also highlight the importance of exploration regardlessof one's career or life stage. The ability to use exploratory behavior iscritical whether it be for exploration of the selfor the world-of-work.In either case, exploratory behavior involves asking questions aboutoneself and one's situation. Within this process, "the self must beseen in terms of the life stage in which it functions and the developmental tasks that it confronts or will soon confront" (Super, 1983, p.558). Moreover, engaging in exploratory behavior requires being awareof the resources that can be used for exploration. Helping clientsbecome aware of and use these resources may be one of the moreimportant functions of career counseling.

The ACCI is a useful inventory for helping clients identify the focus of their exploratory needs and for determining the resourcesclients may need to use to cope with their career concerns. That is,when clients express considerable concern for specific career devel-


opment tasks, they can use the corresponding ACCI items to identify appropriate resources for exploration. For example, a client whois exploring to become more current in an occupation (i.e., the taskof updating) can focus on the items from the Updating scale to identify useful strategies for becoming more up-to-date.

Although we identified distinct ways in which adults use exploration, there are limitations in this study. One limitation relates tothe instrument used to acquire information about the career concerns of the study participants. Specifically, Savickas, Passen, andJaIjoura (1988) noted that ACCI scores indicate concern individualshave about adapting to changes in work or working conditions. ACCIscores do not indicate whether respondents' concerns "relate to developmental task mastery, adaptive problem solving, or occupational change" (Savickas, Passen, & JaIjoura, 1988, p. 96). Ratherthan providing diagnostic data concerning clients' levels of careerdevelopment, ACCI scores serve as guides for clarifying the issueswith which clients are attempting to cope. Finally, the generalizabilityof our findings is also limited. Future studies focusing on adult career explorers need to incorporate additional variables (e.g., selfefficacy, general and career choice anxiety, greater variation in theages of study participants, and vocational identity) to increase understanding related to the ways adults use exploration to foster career development.

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