Antecedents and consequences of career decisional states in adolescence

Abstract

This longitudinal study tested students in Grade 8 and again in Grade 10 on career (maturity, barriers, indecision, decision-making self-efficacy), well-being (self-esteem, life satisfaction, coping) and social (school achievement, paid work experience) variables. Students were allocated to decided or undecided conditions at T1, T2 and across T1-T2, based on self-reported global decidedness ratings. As predicted, the undecided students had poorer career, well-being and social outcomes than the decided students at T1 and T2. The undecided group was also less likely to report having paid work-experience at T1, and to be overrepresented by females at T2. Students who were undecided at T1 and T2 (i.e., continuously undecided) fared poorer than students who were decided at T1 and T2 (continuously decided) and students who changed decision status from T1 to T2 (i.e., developmentally undecided). Females were more likely to be continuously undecided, although continuously undecided males were more complacent and more likely to use maladaptive strategies than females. Implications of being temperamentally versus developmentally undecided are discussed.The present study adds to the literature by seeking to clarify whether adolescents who report persistent career indecision is associated with more negative intra-individual effects, compared to adolescents who report being decided across time or who report a decision status that reflects a developmental indecision. Chronic indecision has been linked with negative intra-individual variables in a variety of studies (e.g., Kelly & Lee, 2002), although these studies have typically examined the characteristics of different types of career decision makers using cross-sectional designs. A relatively severe type of indecision, in comparison to the other groups identified, has invariably emerged from this body of evidence, although the majority of these studies to date have used young adult student samples. The present study seeks to report on important career-related and intra-individual variables associated with groups of school aged decision makers formed on the basis of measures of career indecision taken across time. We present a brief review of the career indecision typology research to provide the context for the design and predictions of the present study.It does appear that there are different types of career indecision and that those who suffer from chronic indecision may be worse off than others. Larson, Heppner, Ham and Dugan (1988), for instance, found a more negative pattern of career planning deficits and more deleterious problem

Unpacking the role of self-esteem in career uncertainty: A self-determination perspective

“…First, consistent with the findings of previous studies (Barrett & Tinsley, 1977a, 1977bChartrand et al, 1990;Creed et al, 2005;Germeijs & De Boeck, 2003;Resnick et al, 1970;Saunders, Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon, 2000), we found that self-esteem was negatively related to career uncertainty. Nevertheless, we provided an additional contribution to explain why self-esteem could contribute to career certainty.…”

“…One important individual difference factor that can explain different levels of career uncertainty across students is self-esteem. Previous research findings consistently suggested that there is a significant and positive link between career indecision and lower self-esteem (Creed, Prideaux, & Patton, 2005;Germeijs & De Boeck, 2002;Santos, 2001;Shea, Ma, Yeh, Lee, & Pituc, 2009). Moreover, a meta-analytic study indicated that the largest effects on career decision self-efficacy is a self-concept variable, i.e., self-esteem, among several personal variables (Choi et al, 2012).…”

University Students’ Career Choice and Emotional Well-Being

“…In particular, negative intra-individual variables have been linked with individuals who report significantly higher levels of career indecision (Kelly & Lee, 2002). These include a negative affective disposition (Multon, Heppner,&Lapan, 1995), anxiety (Germeijs, Verschueren, &Soenens, 2006), fear of success (Staley, 1996) and lower self-esteem (Creed,Prideaux, & Patton, 2005;Germeijs& De Boeck, 2002, 2003Staley, 1996). Saka, Gati, and Kelly (2008) explored relevant personality and emotional factors in their model, and identified three major sources of problems -pessimistic views, anxiety, and selfconcept/identity.…”

“…The general finding is that higher levels of career indecision appear to be associated with lower life satisfaction (Creed et al, 2005;Skorikov, 2007). No studies have examined how one's hope for life relates to career decisions.…”

Reasons for avoidance of vocational education in Jordan

“…The kind of the educational and cultural context the child receives determines the kind of vocational interests a child forms all through their going to school (Watson et al, 2011). Creed et al (2005) state that the societal influence that begins from the family greatly contributes to the kind of vocational interests formed by the children. Therefore, schools have to play a critical role in positively supporting students" interests formed through the social context they live in.…”