UC Santa Barbara

Using social cognitive career theory as a guiding framework, this thesis explored memorable vocational anticipatory socialization messages that undocumented college students reported receiving from their parents and how those messages related to students’ career outlooks and choices. From semi-structured interviews with 40 undocumented students, nine kinds of messages were found and categorized into three larger types: (a) value messages, (b) instructional messages, and (c) trust/support messages, with some differences in messages, depending on students’ DACA status, racial/ethnic backgrounds (Latina/o/x/e and Asian/Pacific Islander), and gender. Using thematic co-occurrence analysis, relationships between the three kinds of messages and students’ career outlooks, choices, and/or their career-related engagement with their parents and nonparental figures were observed. From the findings, this thesis proposed the Vocational Anticipatory Socialization Model of Structural Limitations and critical family career discourse, which, together, elucidate how structural factors shape parent-child career-related conversations within marginalized families.