Abstract:

The aim of this study was to run the Turkish adaptation and to test the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Korean Career Stress Inventory (KCSI; Choi et al., 2011). In total 425 voluntary university students enrolled at various departments of Istanbul University, whose ages ranged from 17 to 68, participated in the study. Par- ticipants filled in personal information form, the Turkish Version of the Korean Career Stress Inventory, Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale (CDSES) and Vocational Outcome Expectations Scale (VOES). Exploratory factor analysis and item analysis were conducted, and the correlations between other scales were analyzed in order to examine the construct validity of the scale. Internal consistency and a four week time-span test-retest reliability coefficients were computed to measure the reliability of KCSI. Cronbach alpha coefficient for internal consistency was .94 with item-total correlations ranging between .44 - .80 whereas the test-retest reliability coefficient was .81 for the Turkish version of the KCSI. Factor analyses showed that the items of the KCSI loaded on three factors called “Career Ambiguity and Lack of Information”, “External Conflict” and “Employment Pressure” which explained 64.7% of total variance. The scores obtained from the Turkish version of the KCSI correlated significantly and negatively with the scores obtained from CDSES and VOES. Findings suggest strongly that the Turkish version of the KCSI has a three-factor structure and it is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to measure career stress levels of university students. The psychometric properties of the scale were discussed in light of the relevant literature.

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