Development and Validation of an Instrument to Assess Activism toward Social and Environmental Sustainability in Career Counseling

Abstract

Considering the recent attention to challenges regarding sustainability in the field of career counseling, this study aimed to provide the development and initial validation of an instrument entitled, “Activism toward Social and Environmental Sustainability for Career Construction” (ASESCC). ASESCC can be used in career counseling and research activities to assess activism toward social and environmental sustainability. With this aim, two different studies were carried out. In the first, we developed items, assessed content validity, and tested the factorial structure and reliability of the scale. The second study tested the convergent and discriminant validity of the ASESCC with measures of propensity to sustainability in making decisions about one’s future (convergent validity), career adaptability (discriminant validity), and life satisfaction (discriminant validity). Results showed good psychometric support for the scale for Italian workers. Moreover, the findings indicated that the ASESCC total score was related yet distinct from other measures, suggesting that Italian workers that reported a greater propensity to activism toward social and environmental sustainability also were characterized by higher levels of career adaptability, an inclination to sustainability in making decisions about their future, and life satisfaction.