Evaluation of the effectiveness of the New Career Construction Genogram

Against the background of the theoretical framework of Savickas’ Career Construction Theory (Savickas, 2005) and in accordance with his Life Designing paradigm (Savickas et al., 2009), this study examined the effectiveness of the Career Construction Genogram (CCG) (Di Fabio, 2010). The participants were recruited on the basis of their having sought Life Design Counseling to help them resolve decision-making problems such as those concerning possible areas for further development and/or whether to continue or abandon their entrepreneurial work. The study used the Future Career Autobiography (FCA) (Rehfuss, 2009) in a group of 69 Italian female entrepreneurs. The study included an experimental group (n = 33), to which the CCG was administered, and a control group (n = 36). Analysis of variance, repeated measures analysis of variance and interrater reliability analysis using the Kappa statistic were performed. A comparison of initial FCAs with subsequent FCAs indicated that the experimental group members had more specific life and occupational goals after the intervention. In addition, word count analysis revealed expanded narrative expression in the experimental group’s post-FCAs. These results suggest the value of the CCG as a promising intervention instrument in the Life Designing paradigm.