Impact of career thoughts, parental support and career decision- making self-efficacy on adolescents’ career indecision: Basis for career guidance program

Pages: 101-107
Robert Fernandes and Lucila O Bance (The Graduate School, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines)

What to choose as one’s future career is among the most significant decisions a young person makes in life. Adolescence is an important period during which decision about the future is made and career is carved out, but unfortunately many adolescents experience episodes of career indecision. The aim of this research is to determine if career thoughts, parental support, and career decision-making self-efficacy can predict adolescents’ career indecision. The study utilized the descriptive correlational method as its design and the participants were chosen through purposive sampling procedure with 538 adolescent-respondents. Results showed that adolescents’ career indecision significantly correlated with career thoughts, parental support and career decision-making self-efficacy. Regression analysis using R² showed that 56% of the variation in career indecision is attributed to predictor variables. Results imply that when adolescents boost parental support and self-efficacy and reduce dysfunctional thoughts they would tend to improve their career indecision. Thus, a career guidance program focusing on the three predictor variables must be developed and implemented as a tool to help adolescents make appropriate career decisions in life.