Predicting career indecision: A self-determination theory perspective.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to propose and test a model of career indecision based on selfdetermination theory (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985). This model posits that peer and parental styles predicted career indecision through perceived self-efficacy and autonomy. Participants were 834 college students (236 men, 581 women, 17 without gender identification). Results from structural equation modeling provided support for the proposed model and showed that the model was invariant across gender. Discussion centers on the theoretical and practical implications of the results. Career indecision has been a focus of vocational research over the last few decades. It is defined as an inability to make a decision about the vocation one wishes to pursue. Career indecision has been related empirically to various intraindividual constructs. For example, personality traits such as perfectionism, selfconsciousness, fear of commitment (Leong & Chervinko, 1996), and anxiety (Fuqua, Newman, & Seaworth, 1988) were positively associated with career indecision. In contrast, rational decisionmaking style (Mau, 1995), self-efficacy beliefs (Betz & Luzzo, 1996), and level of ego identity (Cohen, Chartrand, & Jowdy, 1995) were negatively related to career indecision. Moreover, research has drawn attention to the interpersonal factors related to career indecision. For instance, positive family and peer interactions (e.g., Felsman & Blustein, 1999; Guerra & Braungart-Rieker, 1999) have been negatively related to career indecision. However, little is known about how intraindividual and interpersonal factors interact to produce career indecision. That is, how do contextual factors such as parents and peers affect career indecision? What psychological processes are involved? A potentially useful theoretical framework for understanding these critical questions in career indecision research is self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Specifically, SDT focuses on the social– contextual conditions that facilitate the natural processes of self-motivation and healthy psychological functioning. The purpose of this study was to propose and test a model of career indecision based on SDT. This model posits that interactions with parents and peers predict career indecision through perceived competence and autonomy. The model proposed and tested in this study contributes to the existing vocational literature in three important ways. First, although some research has provided support for the relation between family environment and career indecision, little is known about the processes that may mediate this relation. Second, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have assessed the role of peers in the prediction of career indecision. Testing such a relation is important because some work reveals that peers have an important impact on psychosocial adjustment (Harter, 1999; Hartup & Stevens, 1997; Mounts & Steinberg, 1995). Third, some studies focusing on career indecision are not based on a theoretical framework. In contrast to some of these studies, the proposed model is based on a well-known theoretical framework, which has been the object of considerable research (see Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Vallerand, 1997, for literature reviews). We present a brief overview of SDT and evidence in support of the proposed model.