Effectiveness of career choice interventions: A meta-analytic replication and extension

- A meta-analysis of career choice interventions found a mean effect size of 0.352.
- Career decision-making self-efficacy had the largest mean effect size.
- Both number of sessions and hours in treatment were significant predictors.
- Counselor support was associated with larger effect sizes.

This meta-analysis of career choice intervention is a replication of Brown and Ryan Krane's (2000) notable meta-analysis. This random-effects meta-analysis included 57 published and unpublished studies that produced a weighted mean effect size of 0.352. Seven separate meta-analyses were conducted for the outcomes of vocational identity, career maturity, career decidedness, career decision-making self-efficacy, perceived environmental support, perceived career barriers, and outcome expectations. Studies (k = 32) that utilized measures of career decision-making self-efficacy had the largest effect sizes with an average of 0.452. This effect size was homogeneous, but tentative moderator analyses were conducted. Counselor support appears to be a critical ingredient in career choice counseling. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.