Open Access
Development of Career Anxiety Scale for University Students
1
University of Management and Technology
2
University of Management and Technology
Abstract
Aim: The current study had aimed to develop a psychometrical and culturally relevant scale for measuring career anxiety among Pakistani University students. Method: The scale development process had four phases including Phase I of conducting semi-structured interview from 16 university students who were in their final year. Total 84 responses were collected that were refined into 32 items after eliminating overlapping and duplicate items. Phase II were based content validity process including five clinical psychologists having minimum 5 years’ experience. Phase III involved pilot study that included 10 participants. In the Final Phase IV, 28 item scale was used to administer on 300 university students through purposive sampling alongside another indigenous tool i.e., Student’s Procrastination Scale. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were conducted with evaluation of psychometric property of the scale. Results: Three factors including F1 Future Career Uncertainty, F2 Intrapersonal Career Anxiety, and F3 Career Preparation Anxiety were emerged through Exploratory Factor Analysis with Varimax Rotation. Confirmatory Factor Analysis further supported the three-factor structure with model fit (CFI = .91, GFI = .85, TLI = .90, RMSEA = .06, and SRMR = .049). Excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .95) was reported with significant convergent validity with academic procrastination (r = .59, p< .001). Conclusion: It was concluded that Career Anxiety Scale (CAS) is a reliable and valid tool for assessing career anxiety among university students in Pakistan and having implications in intervention and educational counselling.
Keywords
Academic Procrastination ,Career Anxiety ,University Students
How to Cite
Shahid, S., & Awaisi, Z. B. (2026). Development of Career Anxiety Scale for University Students. International Journal of Active & Healthy Aging, 4(1), 9–16. https://doi.org/10.67015/ijaha.313
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