Development of two scales for measuring academic psychological capital and locus of control in fresh graduates

This work develops within PETERE, a project of the University of Padova that investigated how fresh graduates interact with the labour market in order to improve placement plans. A set of psychological characteristics have been identified as crucial resources for the occupational success: the positive psychological capital (PsyCap) dimensions (hope, resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism) and locus of control (LoC) dimensions (internal and external). Two instruments have been developed for the evaluation of these individual dispositions among fresh graduates: the Academic PsyCap and the LoC scales. In the final form, the two tools consist of 26 and 7 items respectively, which have been selected, through factor analyses, from an initial pool of items specifically developed for fresh graduates. Results suggested adequate psychometric properties for both the Academic PsyCap and the LoC scales. The factor structure of the two instruments was confirmed, and reliability indices were satisfactory for all the subscales of the tools. The Academic PsyCap and the LoC scales, in addition, showed significant relationships with the occupational status of respondents, with their entrepreneurial disposition, and with the number of actions taken when they are looking for a job.