White Racial Identity Development and Work Values

Abstract

Contemporary approaches to career development emphasize the psychological and developmental dimensions of the task. This study suggests not only that consideration of race should form an integral part of that process but also that race too needs to be understood in a psychological and developmental way. While some claim that constructs associated with both racial identity theory and career development measure aspects of a client′s personality, virtually no research has explored the relation between these two perspectives. In this test using a White sample (N = 109), a canonical analysis revealed a significant relation between the psychological variables of "racial identity" and "work values" consistent with the theory of White racial identity development. Suggestions for future research are considered.