Dimensions Of Career Indecision Research Articles

Secure Attachment and Career Indecision: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence

Over the past few decades, researchers have been trying to understand the career decision-making process from interpersonal and affective perspectives. Previous findings suggest that secure attachment is negatively linked to career indecision, but the extent to which other variables mediate this relation is less clear. The present study was designed to identify underlying mechanism in the relation between attachment and career indecision. This was done by examining a model which links secure attachment with career indecision through the mediating role of emotional intelligence. Participants included 362 female undergraduate students from a large Southern University. A path model was tested to investigate (a) the direct association of attachment to three dimensions of career indecision (lack of readiness, lack of information, and inconsistent information) and (b) whether emotional intelligence mediates the relations between attachment and the career indecision dimensions, while controlling students’ age. Results indicated a very good fit for the proposed path model. With two exceptions, results provided support for the study’s hypothesis regarding the direct and mediated links in the model; all paths were in the expected direction. Results of the study provide support for the notion that different antecedents may explain career decision-making difficulties, and therefore, college women may require diverse intervention approaches

The Italian Version of the Career Factors Inventory

This study attempted to examine the validity of the Italian version of the Career Factors Inventory (CFI), a psychometric tool widely used in the assessment of cognitive and personal–emotional dimensions of career indecision, among a sample of 2,060 Italian students attending high school and university. Recurring to both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the original four-factor structure was confirmed and returned, in line with the literature, satisfactory reliability indices; moreover, CFI subscales showed intercorrelations consistent with previous studies, albeit lower in some cases. Subsequently, convergent validity between the four CFI subscales and other scales via zero-order correlation was tested, confirming previous evidence except for need for career information. In conclusion, consistent with previous studies, the Italian version of the CFI showed to be a valid and reliable instrument for the evaluation of dimensions of career indecision.

Factorial Invariance of the Indecision Scale of the Career Decision Scale: A Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Results of a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (N= 686) indicated factorial invariance of a 3‐factor model of the Indecision scale of the Career Decision Scale (CDS; Osipow, Carney, Winer, Yanico, & Koschier, 1976). Differential item function was not observed when ΔCFI (comparative fit index) was used for comparison of models, thus indicating strong measurement invariance across gender. Men had significantly greater latent means for all 3 dimensions of career indecision. Given the multidimensional structure, use of the CDS may provide an initial step to help practitioners identify possible factors that are responsible for a client's career indecision. Clients may need assistance for initiating a career search, information to help them identify career possibilities for a chosen major, or detailed information concerning several possible careers that are under consideration.

Psychological Separation and Dimensions of Career Indecision in Secondary School Students

Lopez and Andrews (1987) interpreted career indecision as an indicator of the inadequate psychological separation of adolescents from their parents. However, various empirical studies have not managed to clearly demonstrated evidence of a relationship between systemic family variables and career indecision. This investigation, which involves a sample of 418 adolescents of both sexes in the 12th grade of secondary school, analyzed the relationship between conflictual and emotional independence and two dimensions of career indecision: developmental indecision and generalized indecision. As a principal methodology of statistical analysis, a canonical correlation analysis, one for each gender, was used. There were no relationships between the two sets of variables. The results were interpreted in light of the fact that some subjects could be classified as foreclosure in terms of identity status. A model of career decision status is proposed.

Unidimensionality Versus Multidimensionality of the Career Decision Scale: A Critique of Martin, Sabourin, Laplante, and Coallier

During the past 15 years the Career Decision Scale (CDS) has been used primarily to assess degree of indecision. Controversy has arisen around the issue of whether it should thus be considered a unidimensional measure or whether it is a multidimensional measure of several dimensions of career indecision. Although a number of studies reported significant empirical support for the multidimensionality of the CDS, a study by Martin, Sabourin, Laplante, and Coallier (1991) claimed to present evidence supporting its unidimensionality. The present study refutes those claims by demonstrating serious methodological and conceptual errors and omissions in the findings of Martin et al. (1991) and by presenting further empirical evidence in support of multidimensionality.

Dimensions of career indecision.

Dimensions of career indecision.