Causal Relationship Between Career Indecision and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy

Abstract

This study surved 166 students when they were in Grade 8 of high school and then again when they were in Grade 10, using measures of career indecision and career decision-making self-efficacy. Consistent with social-cognitive theories, the authors hypothesized that changes in self-efficacy over time would be causally associated with changes in career indecision over time. Using latent variable analyses, the authors estimated a two-wave, longitudinal, cross-lagged panel design and find that contrary to expectations, changes in career decision-making self-efficacy did not result in changes in career indecision, despite significant contemporaneous associations at both times. Theoretical and applied implications are highlighted.