Advancing the Assessment of Women's Career Choices: The Career Aspiration Scale

The results of five studies illustrated sound psychometric properties of the CAS when used with adolescent, college, and postcollege samples comprised predominantly of White women. The final eight-item measure demonstrated strong testretest reliability over a 2-week period and evidenced moderate internal consistency. Convergent validity was supported by correlations with measures of career decision self-efficacy, multiple role self-efficacy, occupational self-efficacy, attitudes toward women's roles, instrumentality, and relative importance of career versus family. Discriminant validity was demonstrated through the absence of relations between the CAS total score and measures of attachment to parents. Finally, a two-factor solution consisting of the Leadership and Achievement Aspirations Scale and the Educational Aspirations Scale accounted for substantial variance in career aspiration among samples of mostly White women.