GROUP COUNSELING INTERVENTIONS FOR CAREER MATURITY DEVELOPMENT IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A SCOPING REVIEW

Abstract

Career maturity is a crucial developmental construct that reflects students’ readiness to
engage in career exploration, planning, and decision-making. Despite growing interest in career
maturity research, evidence regarding the use of group counseling interventions to enhance career
maturity among university students remains fragmented. This scoping review aimed to map the
existing literature on group counseling interventions for career maturity development and identify
psychological and contextual factors that may serve as intervention targets within group
counseling settings. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews
and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Literature
searches were conducted in Scopus and SAGE Journals using keywords related to group
counseling, career maturity, career development, and university students. Eligibility criteria were
developed using the Population–Concept–Context (PCC) framework. A total of 186 records were
identified, of which seven studies met the inclusion criteria. The included studies were conducted
in China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia, and predominantly employed quantitative
designs. The findings revealed three major themes: psychological resources (e.g., self-esteem, selfefficacy, future time perspective, and future work self), social support (e.g., parental, peer, and
teacher support), and career-related interventions as contributors to career maturity development.
Notably, only one study directly implemented a structured career intervention program, whereas
the remaining studies primarily examined predictors and correlates of career maturity. These
findings indicate that current research provides substantial evidence on factors associated with
career maturity but offers limited evidence on intervention strategies that can systematically
enhance it. This review highlights the potential of group counseling as a promising approach for
strengthening career maturity by targeting key psychological and contextual resources. Future
research should prioritize developing and evaluating evidence-based group counseling models
tailored to the career development needs of university students in an increasingly complex and
uncertain labor market.