Predicting Career Indecision in College Students: The Roles of Identity Formation and Parental Relationship Factors
✍ Scribed by Antonia L. Guerra; Julia M. Braungart-Rieker
- Publisher
- American Counseling Association
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 848 KB
- Volume
- 47
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0889-4019
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Students' identity formation and perceptions of parental acceptance and encouragement of independence were investigated as predictors of career indecision. The Mother-Father-Peer Scale (Epstein, 1983), Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Bennion & Adams, 1986), and Career Decision Scale (Osipow, Carney, Winer, Yanico, & Koschier, 1976) were administered to 169 undergraduate students with a mean age of 19.68. Analysis using multiple regression indicated that career indecision was predicted by a greater degree of identity moratorium and diffusion, less maternal acceptance and fewer years in college. Suggestions for future research and counseling applications are provided.
One inevitable and often difficult choice that students face during their college years is that of selecting a college major. This decision is an important one because it affects not only the course of college study but also gives direction to career selection after graduation. Choosing a major and career comes more easily for some, and vocational theorists, researchers, and counselors have explored various influences on the decision process to better understand how to identify and help those struggling to make a career decision. Among the factors contributing to career development described in the literature are those focusing on familial influences (Grotevant & Cooper,