The goal was to assess sex differences in career indecision's association with different levels of self-reported psychological adjustment and with different remembrances of maternal and paternal acceptance and behavioral control in childhood. 126 participants responded to the Career Decision Scale, the Adult version of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection/Control Questionnaire, and the Adult version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire. Results showed that career indecision among women but not men was significantly correlated with remembered maternal and paternal acceptance in childhood, as well as with self-reported psychological adjustment and age. Only women's self-reported psychological adjustment made a unique contribution to variance in reported career indecision. No predictor variables were significantly associated with career indecision among men.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BetzN. E.VòytenK. K. (1997) Efficacy and outcome expectations influence career exploration and decidedness. Career Development Quarterly, 46, 179–189.
2.
BlusteinD. L.WalbridgeM. M.FriedlanderM. L.PalladinoD. E. (1991) Contributions of psychological separation and parental attachment to the career development process. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38, 39–50.
3.
Castle-KrollA. (2004) The mother-daughter relationship: effects on college women's career choice and vocational commitment. Dissertation Abstracts International, Section B: The Scienees and Engineering, 65, 2123.
4.
FuquaD. R.SeaworthT. B.NewmanJ. L. (1987) The relationship of career indecision and anxiety: a multivariable examination. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 30, 175–186.
5.
GuerraA.Braungart-RiekerJ. (1999) Predicting career indecision in college students: the roles of identity formation and parental relationship factors. The Career Development Quarterly, 47, 255–266.
6.
HargroveB.CreaghM.BurgessB. (2002) Family interaction patterns as predictors of vocational identity and career decision-making self-efficacy. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61, 185–201.
7.
HinkelmenJ. M.LuzzoD. A. (2007) Mental health and career development of college students. Journal of Counseling and Development, 85, 143–147.
8.
HuangS. (2001) The effect of family environment, personality, and self-efficacy on career indecision of college students. Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 62, 2028.
9.
HughesM.BlomM.RohnerR. P.BritnerP. A. (2005) Bridging parental acceptance-rejection theory and attachment theory in the preschool strange situation [Special Issue], Ethos, 33, 378–401.
10.
KaplanO. M.BrownD. (1987) The role of anxiety in career indecision. Career Development Quarterly, 36, 148–162.
11.
KatesN.GreiffB. S.HayenD. Q. (1993) Job loss and employment uncertainty. In KahnJ. (Ed.), Mental health in the workplace: a practical psychiatric guide. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Pp. 156–176.
12.
KhalequeA.RohnerR. P. (2002) Reliability of measures assessing the relation between parental acceptance-rejection and psychological adjustment: meta-analysis of cross-cultural and intracultural studies. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 87–99.
13.
KinnierR. T.BrigmanS. L.NobleE. C. (1990) Career indecision and family enmeshment. Journal of Counseling and Development, 68, 309–312.
14.
LopezF. G.AndrewsS. (1987) Career indecision: a family systems perspective. Journal of Counseling and Development, 65, 304–307.
15.
OsipowS. H.CarneyC. G.WinerJ. L.YanicoB.KoschierM. (1976) The Career Decision Scale (3rd ed. Rev.) Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
16.
PufferK. (1999) A study of collegians' family activities, roles, and interpersonal relations and their vocational identity, career choice commitment and decision making: an application of the developmental contextual framework. Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 59, 4370.
17.
RisingD. G. (1999) The influence of perceived parental acceptance-rejection, parental control, and psychological adjustment on job instability among men. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Northern Illinois Univer.
18.
RohnerR. P. (1986) The warmth dimension: foundations of parental acceptance-rejection theory. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
19.
RohnerR. P. (2004) The parental “acceptance-rejection syndrome”: universal correlates of perceived rejection. American Psychologist, 59, 827–840.
20.
RohnerR. P. (2005) Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ): Test Manual. In RohnerR. P.KhalequeA. (Eds.), Handbook for the study of parental acceptance and rejection. (4th ed.) Storrs, CT: Rohner Research Publications. Pp. 43–106.
21.
RohnerR. P.KhalequeA. (2003) Reliability and validity of the Parental Control Scale: a meta-analysis of cross-cultural and intracultural studies. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34, 643–649.
22.
RohnerR. P.KhalequeA. (2005) Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ): Test Manual. In RohnerR. P.KhalequeA. (Eds.), Handbook for the study of parental acceptance and rejection. (4th ed.) Storrs, CT: Rohner Research Publications. Pp. 187–226.
23.
SakaN.GatiI. (2007) Emotional and personality-related aspects of persistent career decision-making difficulties. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 71, 340–358.
24.
SakaN.GatiI.KellyK. R. (2008) Emotional and personality-related aspects of career decision-making difficulties. Journal of Career Assessment, 16, 403–424.
25.
SalomoneP. R. (1982) Difficult cases in career counseling: II. The indecisive client. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 60, 496–500.
26.
TaylorK. M. (1982) An investigation of vocational indecision in college students: correlates and moderators. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 21, 318–329.
27.
TaylorK. M.PopmaJ. (1990) An examination of the relationships among career decision-making self-efficacy, career salience, locus of control, and vocational indecision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 37, 17–31.
28.
ZafiropoulouM.SotiriouA.MitsioliV. (2007) Relation to self-concept in kindergarten and first grade to school adjustment. Psychological Reports, 104, 1313–1327.
29.
ZieglerA.StoegerH. (2008) Effects of role models from films on short-term ratings of intent, interest, and self-assessment of ability by high school youth: a study of gender-stereotyped academic subjects. Psychological Reports, 102, 509–531.
