S. Alvin Leung’s research while affiliated with University of Houston and other places

Members of Division 17's Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee surveyed ethnic and racial minority psychologists in the Division of Counseling Psychology to solicit their perceptions about their professional needs and experiences. Survey results revealed three important professional needs related to multicultural issues: increased sensitivity to multicultural concerns by colleagues and training programs, inclusion of a greater number of ethnic and racial minority psychologists in leadership positions, and more visibility of ethnic and racial minority psychologists in the profession. Some respondents reported that although their involvement in multicultural issues was personally and professionally rewarding, they had some concerns about their colleagues' tendency to see their work in this area as less valuable. Lastly, many respondents expressed their desire for Division 17 to increase the representation of ethnic and racial minorities in its general membership and in its leadership positions and to provide more opportunities for networking.

The current article provides a review of the issues and problems in conducting career assessment with Asian-Americans. Existing information about the assessment of career interests, vocational development, and work values as they pertain to Asian-Americans are reviewed. Special issues in career assessment with Asian-Americans such as occupational segregation in vocational choices, educational attainment, and family influences are also discussed. The article also presents cross-cultural issues to be considered in the assessment and test interpretation process with Asian-American clients. Wherever appropriate, guidelines for effective career assessment with Asian-Americans are offered in the discussion. In the final section, directions for future research to increase our knowledge base on career assessment with Asian-Americans are presented and discussed.

Compared the career considerations of a group of Asian-American college students (52 men and 72 women; mean age 20.3 yrs) with a comparison group of Caucasian students (95 men and 151 women; mean age 19.9 yrs) using an Occupations List. The results revealed that Asian-American students were more likely to have considered Investigative occupations and less likely to have considered Enterprising and Conventional occupations than were the Caucasian students. There was no difference between both groups in their considering of Social occupations, but there were differences in terms of the prestige level and gender traditionality of the occupations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Used a retrospective method to obtain information about the career aspirations of gifted high school juniors (69 boys and 125 girls). The Occupations List instrument by L. W. Harmon (1971) was administered to Ss to obtain information about career alternatives (CAs) considered by each S at ages 0–8 yrs, 9–23 yrs, and 14+ yrs. The CAs considered in an early life period were compared with those considered later in terms of their prestige level and gender traditionality. The career and educational aspirations of gifted boys and girls were also compared. There was no difference between the boys and girls in the prestige level of career aspirations in the 1st and 2nd life periods. Girls were less likely than boys to aspire to a doctoral or professional degree, yet were more likely to aspire to a master's or bachelor's degree. This suggests the influence of traditional sex-role attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Examined L. S. Gottfredson's (1981) theory of career circumscription and compromise with an Asian-American sample (52 male and 97 female college students). The Occupations List was used to examine circumscription, and the Occupational Choice Dilemma Inventory was used to examine compromise. Analyses of the retrospective vocational considerations of Asian Americans showed that there were changes in their preferences for occupational sex type and prestige from the early years into the adolescent life periods. Also, sex type was more likely to be compromised than prestige in career choice situations requiring compromise. The implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

This study examines the theorized relation between vocational identity, and the concepts of consistency and differentiation (Holland 1985). A total of 211 male and 353 female academically superior high school juniors participated. Measures of vocational identity were computed using the Vocational Identity scale of the My Vocational Situation. Multiple measures of consistency and differentiation were computed by using the interest scores obtained from the Self-Directed Search. Correlation techniques were used to examine the relation between the three constructs. The results suggested that vocational identity was not related to consistency or differentiation. The findings were discussed in terms of their implications for Holland's theory and for counseling.

This study examined L. S. Gottfredson's (see record 1982-03363-001) postulation that individuals are more likely to sacrifice prestige than sex type preference when career compromise is needed. College students (151 women and 95 men) responded to a forced-choice questionnaire called the Occupational Choice Dilemma Inventory. Occupations were paired together to represent 3 choice dilemma situations or systematic variations in prestige and sex type levels between the 2 occupations. For each pair of occupations, the respondent had to either sacrifice a certain degree of prestige or sex type. Overall, prestige was more often used as the preferred factor than sex type, but career compromise behavior was jointly affected by gender and the degree of contrast in prestige and sex type levels that characterized the 3 choice dilemma situations. Implications for Gottfredson's framework and career counseling were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

This study examined the construct of the zone of acceptable alternatives proposed by L. S. Gottfredson (see record 1982-03363-001) in her developmental theory of career aspiration. College students (95 men and 151 women) responded to a demographic questionnaire, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, and the Occupations List. The Occupations List consisted of 155 occupational titles, and subjects were asked to indicate whether they had considered each of the occupations and when. Occupations considered were coded with measurements of sex type and prestige, and 5 indicators were computed for each subject as multiple operational definitions of the zone of acceptable alternatives. Changes in some of the indicators over time were identified. Differences in the indicators were found to be related to gender and sex role orientation of the participants. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for Gottfredson's model and for counseling practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)