Running Head: CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 1

Introduction

The concept of a career or choice of occupation begins right from the time

children indulge in pretend play as a doctor, teacher and other professionals they see

around them. Often children find themselves answering questions as to what they

want to become when they are older. Although this process starts early, actual

planning and decision making start in adolescence, the period between 13 and 18

years. It is a key developmental period characterized by several biological and

psychological changes and requires the successful resolution of specific tasks like

identity achievement. It is a stage where they struggle to find a balance between

obedience and independence. Along with other skills, an adolescent needs to develop

adequate decision-making skills as several important decisions that will have an

impact on their future will be taken in this period.

One such important decision that needs to be taken is regarding academic and

career choices. The career trajectory of a person begins when he starts thinking of his

future career and starts preparations for a successful foray into the same. Career

interests are developed, future career objectives are formed, and the foundation for

one’s future career is laid in adolescence. According to Erickson (as cited in Landine,

2013) late adolescence is the time when ideological and occupational commitment is a

key task. The main requirement at this stage is preparation for a career, increase in

awareness about careers and occupations, exploration of life roles and knowledge of

biases about specific occupations (Joseph, 2012). Savickas (as cited in Landine, 2013)

spoke of the need for students to “look ahead.” He advocated the development of

competencies of self-knowledge, occupational information, decision making,

planning, and problem-solving.

As early as 1951, Ginzberg, Ginzberg, Axelrad, and Herma (as cited in Crites,
CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 2

1972- 73) stressed the importance of career decision-making in adolescence. They

spoke about the difficulty of shifting to new choices (e.g. changing one’s stream) once

old choices are acted upon with respect to career, resulting in a compromise. Going

thru the stages of identity crisis and psychosocial moratorium in the context of having

to make a choice from a plethora of career choices may be very confusing and

challenging for the adolescent (Bakshi, Gandhi, Shah, & Maru, 2012). They may face

difficulties with gathering and analyzing self and occupational knowledge. This

makes career decision making a complex process. The ability to make good career

decisions is critical for success in life because these choices will have repercussions

on the individual’s entire life and future. A person’s future achievements, income

levels, standard of living, self- esteem, and social status are largely influenced by his

career. Hence it is important to provide effective career guidance at this stage to make

appropriate career choices.

Career and Career Guidance- The Concept and its Evolution

Career is defined in the Oxford dictionary as an “occupation undertaken for a

significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for his progress” (“Career”,

n.d.). Understood in this way the word career can be applied to all forms of

occupations as against the popular notion of only people in certain occupations being

considered as having a career. However, generally the word ‘career’ is linked to

occupations that are associated with some form of prestige and formal qualifications.

The concept and understanding of the word ‘Career” has changed tremendously in the

last few years worldwide. What was once considered a family engagement has now

evolved into a lifelong engagement which is seen as a means for personal and social

growth and development.

Vocational Psychology as defined by Savickas (as cited in Walsh & Savickas,

CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 3

2005) is “a speciality within applied psychology, is the scientific enterprise that

conducts research to advance knowledge about vocational behaviour, improve career

interventions, and inform social- policy about work issues.” This branch of

behavioural science has its roots in counseling psychology, educational psychology,

economics, and sociology.

Beginning with career planning the career goals of an individual change from

securing an entry into the world of work, to sustaining oneself and progressing in his

chosen path. In today’s scenario, the individual may need to equip himself with

necessary skills and this may require professional assistance and career counseling.

Many global phenomena have influenced the conception and development of the field

of career guidance. Its origins can be traced back to early 20th century and the

industrial revolution in the West which necessitated the birth of this field. Most of the

theories of career development and guidance were developed in the western

economies which were widely influenced by the industrial revolution. However in the

present world, in developing economies with their large workforce and changing

concepts of career, there is a need to redefine the meaning of career in ways that are

culturally appropriate and build theories and models based on this culturally sensitive

understanding.

Context and Career Guidance

The concept of a career and career guidance is seen to be highly influenced by

cultural, social and economic factors. Recent career management paradigms advocate

that career development is a process that is the outcome of a complex interaction

between the individual and the environment. It is an ongoing process that needs to be

understood in the broader context of the society that the individual is placed in

(Arulmani & Nag-Arulmani, 2004).

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Most of the career counseling interventions are based on models and theories

designed primarily for western cultures. Western world views differ significantly from

eastern worldviews. Western cultures are understood to be individualistic in nature

while eastern cultures are collectivist. However, there is a difference in cultural

worldviews within eastern cultures. While East Asian cultures are collectivist at a

work and community level, South Asian cultures like India are collectivist at a friend

and family level (Natarajan, 2010). Use of western models may be detrimental to the

effectiveness of the same in eastern cultures (Reese & Vera, 2007).

The cultural preparedness approach to career counseling acknowledges the

fact that a person’s engagement with his work and career is influenced by cultural

factors (Arulmani, 2015). It places high importance on the influence of contextual

factors like family, parents, social practices, the religious, economic and political

climate in shaping attitudes towards career choices and career development (Arulmani

2011; Arulmani, 2010 as cited in Arulmani, 2012; Arulmani, Bakshi, Leong, & Watts,

2014). Two main concepts in this model are social cognitions and career beliefs.

Social cognitions refer to intricate patterns of thinking related to career decision

making (work, occupations, and career) and planning that are shared by a social group

and which is transmitted by social learning (Arulmani & Nag- Arulmani, 2004).

Career beliefs as defined by Krumboltz (as cited in Sangma & Arulmani, 2013) can be

understood as “opinions and attitudes that one holds in relation to careers and career

development that may influence career decisions.” Career beliefs are known to be

culturally mediated and may aid or hinder optimal career choice making and

development. Arulmani (as cited in Arulmani, 2012) has highlighted the importance

of addressing the social cognitions, and career beliefs of the family and the individual

in the career counseling process.

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Career in the Indian context

Career Psychology takes on a new meaning in India as the developing

economy and the availability of a huge workforce has opened the doors to a vast array

of careers and opportunities. The ideal use of this potential can help improve the

productivity of the workforce. Career choices in India are also guided by the demands

of the labour market and external factors rather than being based on personal choice

and interests. Therefore understanding career decision making in this context will help

gain useful insights into the same (Arulmani, 2012). However, career psychology in

India has not progressed to the extent needed, and career guidance programs are not

accessible to many. The existing career counseling models may not be based on

theoretical orientations that are suitable for our complex economic, social and cultural

context. Hence career development need to be studied in this context to devise

effective career guidance programs and an Indian career psychology needs to be

developed guided by Indian values and cultural climate.

Career Decision Making

Career choice and planning has become important as globalization, and current

vocational choices have created an unprecedented war for talent (Smith, 2011).

Selection of the wrong career can affect achievement, contentment and mental health

of the individual for life. Therefore career related decisions are an important milestone

in a person’s life.

Career decision making is a process that explains the choices that a person

makes when selecting a particular career. It is a complex phenomenon that has social,

psychological and philosophical aspects to it (Aldona & Liuda, 2004). It helps to

identify individual differences and various factors involved in an individual’s career

decision making (Hirschi & Läge, 2007). It also provides an understanding of the way
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these factors have an impact on their career decisions and choices (Ghuangpeng,

2011).

Theories of Career Development

The study of career decision making has its beginnings with Parson’s trait and

factor approach given in 1909, after which many models have been proposed to

explain the process of career decision making.

Johnson (as cited in Coertse & Schepers, 2004, pp. 57-60) has proposed two

categories of models of career development.

Theories of
Career
Development

Structural Developmental Learning

Theories Theories Theories

Figure 1 . Theories of career development.

1. Structural theories focus on individual characteristics and occupational tasks.

They include trait and factor theories, personality theories and socio-economic

theories. Holland’s personality types theory, Roe’s theory of personality and

Hoppock’s composite theory of occupational choice are some of the theories

which have been proposed under this category.

2. Developmental theories apply development theory to the career decision

making process. The choice process is seen as a series of stages that the

individual experiences, works through and move to the next stage. Some of the
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main developmental theories are Super’s developmental approach, Tiedman’s

decision theory, and Crites’ comprehensive theory.

3. Theories based on social learning models are widely used in research. The

main theories are Krumboltz’s social learning theory of career decision

making and social cognitive career theory by Lent, Brown, and Hackett

(Ghuangpeng, 2011).

Donald Super proposed his theory in 1957 and viewed career development as

a series of occupational stages. The various stages are the growth stage (4-15 years),

exploration stage (15-24 years), establishment (25 to 44 years), maintenance (45 to 65

years), decline (65+ years). He also spoke of the role of self- concept, values and life

roles in the career development of an individual. Career maturity was one of the key

concepts in Super’s developmental approach, and adolescents fall into the exploration

stage (Coertse & Schepers, 2004). Exploration involves both self-exploration and

environmental exploration (Bailey, 2002). The tasks that adolescents are expected to

achieve at this stage are crystallization of a vocational identity, specification of an

actual occupational choice and preparation for implementation of that choice.

Differences in the readiness to meet demands of these developmental tasks lead to

differences in career maturity of the adolescent.

Gottfredson in his theory of career development advocated the influence of

gender identity, perceptions of social aspirations and personal values and interests

along with identity development (Pond, 2010).

The social cognitive career theory proposed by Lent et al. in 1994 adopts a

social cognitive perspective towards career development and draws heavily from

Bandura’s general social cognitive theory. It proposes the role of both personal-

cognitive and contextual-interpersonal factors which support or constrain personal

CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 8

factors and control; self-directed and external influences on career development. They

also stress the role of perceived influence of environmental factors (Lent, Brown, &

Hackett, 2000). Career behaviors according to them are affected by three social

cognitive processes of self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations and career goals

and intentions which combined with race, gender, social support, and perceived

barriers determine career development (Brown, 2002). Personal factors like

personality and intelligence coupled with environmental factors like race and socio-

economic status have an impact on career learning experiences. The presence of

contextual supports and barriers are also highlighted in this theoretical model

(Metheny, 2009).

The cognitive information processing approach to career problem solving and

decision making (CIP) by Peterson, Sampson, and Reardon in 1991 and 2004 was

developed on the lines of Krumboltz’ learning theory framework. The CIP lays

importance on the role of metacognitions in career decision making. Two most

important aspects of this theory are the pyramid of information processing and the

CASVE cycle. The pyramid consists of three domains: knowledge domain (self-

knowledge and options knowledge), information processing skills domain (decision

making) and executive processing domain (metacognitions) (Paivandy, 2008).

CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 9

Executive
Processing

Information Processing
Skills

Knowledge

Figure 2. Pyramid of information processing.

Decision making involves the application of knowledge about decision

making. The CASVE cycle is a part of the decision-making domain and comprises of

stages of communication, analysis, synthesis, valuing, and execution (Carr, 2004).

Communication involves decision making on the basis of internal and external

communication. The analysis phase requires an individual to analyze the factors

influencing their career related problems. In the synthesis phase, possible plans of

action are decided, while in the valuing phase judgments are made about these. In the

execution phase implementation of steps to reach the goal is made. In the executive

processing domain, examination of cognitions regarding career decision making is

done (Paivandy, 2008).

In Krumboltz’s social learning theory of career decision-making which is

based on Bandura’s behavioural theory, he advocated that four categories of factors

influence career decision making. This theory is based on Bandura’s behavioural

theory. They are genetic endowment and special abilities (e.g. race, gender),

environmental conditions and events (e.g. job training and availability of

CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 10

opportunities), learning experiences (associative and instrumental) and task approach

personal skills (e.g. work habits, cognitive processes) (Bounds, 2013).

Career construction theory by Brown & Lent (as cited in Joseph, 2012) places

emphasis on personal constructivism and social constructionism. It focuses on the

concepts of life themes, vocational self-concepts, and seeks to understand career

development as a psychosocial activity that requires a synthesis of self and society.

Several theories implicate the role of family in the career decision-making

process. Family systems theory and an interactional perspective discuss the influence

of family relationships on career development. Attachment theory has also been used

to study the influence of parent-child interaction on career development (Bergen,

2006). Developmental- contextual theory by Vondracek, Lerner, and Schulenberg (as

cited in Bakshi et al., 2012) speaks of the continuous bi-directional interaction

between a person and his context which includes family. They also highlight the role

of personal factors in career choice making.

Thus, many theories highlight the importance of an interaction of several

factors that influence career development and decision making. Career decision

making is a broad umbrella under which several phenomena has been studied. Aspects

of career development that have been widely studied are career maturity, career

decidedness, career indecision, career decision-making self-efficacy, work role

salience and career counseling interventions. The concept of career maturity is

discussed in the following section.

Career Maturity

The concept was initially introduced as vocational maturity by Donald Super

in 1955 who defined it as “the degree to which an individual exhibits career behaviors
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and choices that are appropriate for his or her age” (as cited in Wu, 2009, p. 5).

Development is assessed in relation to six career tasks of the degree of planning, use

of resources, career decision making, career information, information about the world

of work and information about one’s preferred occupation (Bergen, 2006). It includes

the acquisition of self- knowledge, acquisition and application of decision-making

skills, collection of career related information, integration of self, and occupational

knowledge and effective implementation of this knowledge (Lal, 2013-14).

Though the concept was proposed in the 1950’s, bulk of the research in this

area happened in the 1970’s and later. Donald Super, Thompson and Crites are

considered as fathers of the concept of career maturity. In the Montreal Symposium of

1974 career maturity was defined by experts as “one’s disposition to confront

vocational or career developmental tasks as they are encountered, as compared to

others who are in the same stage of life and facing the same developmental tasks”

(Gonzalez, 2008).

Savickas (as cited in Creed & Patton, 2003) defined career maturity as “the

individual’s readiness to make informed, age-appropriate career decisions and cope

with career development tasks.” Gonzalez (as cited in Gonzalez, 2008) has considered

developments in this field and revised the definition of career maturity to “behaviors

that a person manifests in the intent to carry out different career development tasks,

appropriate to each stage of maturity.”

Career maturity in adolescence requires knowledge about educational and

occupational choices and a tentative career decision. An understanding of the level of

career maturity is essential for proper vocational guidance (Coertse & Schepers,

2004). The importance of this concept for development of programs for adolescents
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has been stressed by Patton and Creed (2001). Higher career maturity levels have

been associated with successful careers, as such individuals approach career choice

making in a systematic manner by planning realistically and making appropriate

choices (Powell & Luzzo, 1998). Further, understanding of the way self and work

knowledge can lead to positive career development can aid in better career placement

(Kaur, 2012).

Models of career maturity. Crites proposed a career maturity model

consisting of attitude and cognitive dimensions in 1981 based on developmental

theory. He theorized that career decision-making skills could be divided into

components of self-appraisal, gathering of occupational information, selection of

goals, planning, and problem-solving (Gillespie, 1992). In his model, career maturity

comprises of two dimensions: Attitude and cognitive dimensions. Attitude dimension

deals with the individual’s personal and emotional reactions to making decisions

related to his career and can affect the accomplishment of developmental tasks. It

includes planfulness and exploration while cognitive dimensions include information

and decision- making aspects (Hughes, 2011). Attitudinal variables refer to

dispositional response tendencies which influence the use of choice competencies and

therefore career decision making. The cognitive dimension deals with the knowledge

aspect of career decision making. (Bailey, 2002). Crites developed the Career

Maturity Inventory to measure this concept.

The cross- cultural relevance of the concept of career maturity was explored

by Hardin, Leong, and Osipow (2001) and they stress the need for further

investigation in this regard. The concept of career maturity changes with culture as

collectivist societies encourage interdependence, and the role of family in the career

decision-making process is significant (Fukunaga, 1999). Most of the studies

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conducted on demographic, educational, personality, and social correlates of career

maturity have been in western cultures which are innately different from collectivist

societies like ours. In the recent past, however, culture-specific research has been

conducted on Asian Americans, Thai, Chinese, and Philippine populations. In the

Indian context, career maturity has been studied in relation to gender (Sirohi, 2013),

school climate (Kaur, 2012), vocational guidance (Sirohi, 2013), and self- concept

(Hasan, 2006).

Career decidedness. It is an aspect of career maturity which has been defined

as “the degree to which individuals feel decided about their career choice”

(Lounsbury, Tatum, Chambers, Owens, & Gibson, 1999). Career indecision which is

common among adolescents is shown to be related to psychological issues like

anxiety, low self-esteem, and self-efficacy (Pond, 2010). Till recently research

focused more on career indecision, but now the focus is shifting to career decidedness.

The combination of factors that influence career decidedness has been of interest to

researchers.

Factors Influencing Career Decision Making

Career avenues open to an individual are influenced by several external

(economy), personal (family background, attitude) and sociocultural factors

(Agarwala, 2008). These factors also affect career decision making of people.

Classification of factors influencing career choice as given by Carpenter and

Foster and Beyonce (as cited in Agarwala, 2008) is as follows

Intrinsic (e.g. personal interest and satisfaction)

Extrinsic (e.g. job availability)

Interpersonal (e.g. influence of significant people)

CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 14

Intrinsic factors. Individuals have a predisposition to think and act in certain

ways which influence career decision making. Some of these aspects are personality

traits, cognitive styles, and decision-making styles. The individual factors that are

explored in the current study are discussed in the following section.

Personality. The role of personality in occupational decision making and

occupational success has been elaborated by many theorists like Holland, Smart,

Eysenck, and Eysenck (Ryan, 2014). The trait-oriented theories of career maturity and

decision- making advocate that stable personality traits play a major role in career

decision-making. They believe that differences in the demands of different

occupations require people with different aptitudes and interests. These theories

advance the idea that effective decisions can be made by identifying these traits and

matching them to occupational requirements in the career guidance process. One of

the main trait theorists Holland identified six personality types of realistic,

investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional. Similarly, he classified

work environments and predicted greater success when there was a match between

traits and skill requirements of an occupation. He also was of the view that vocational

interests could be an aspect of personality (Gillespie, 1992). Raskin (1998) advocated

that career maturity needs to be studied in relation to personality, decision making,

and context of the individual.

The big five theory of personality is derived from empirical and experimental

research, and its constructs are known to be stable across cultures (ACT, 2007). At a

global level, it gives a description of basic dimensions of personality. This model is

widely used to classify individual’s ways of thinking, feeling and acting. The five

traits agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness to experience, and

neuroticism are known to correlate with different aspects of vocational behaviour.

CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 15

Adya and Kaiser (2005) in their model for research in career choices in adolescence

advocate the use of the big five personality traits framework to study the role of

personality in career decision making. The convergent and discriminant validity of the

five-factor model for adolescents was reported by Baker, Victor, Chambers, and

Halverson (2004).

Cohen and Swerdlik (as cited in Smith, 2011; Bailey, 2002; Hartman, 2006)

define the traits as follows.

Agreeableness reflects individual differences in concern with cooperation and

social harmony and extent to which he is pro-social and altruistic. Individuals

high on this trait tend to be affectionate and cooperative.

Conscientiousness concerns the way in which we control, regulate, and direct

our impulses. People high on this trait are seen to be hardworking, ambitious,

dependable and organized. They may have conventional interest orientations.

Extraversion is characterized by a pronounced engagement with the external

world and is the extent to which an individual is gregarious, assertive, and

sociable. Such people may be energetic and outgoing and may prefer

enterprising careers.

Openness to experience distinguishes imaginative, creative people from down-

to-earth, conventional people and refers to the interest in new experiences.

Individuals high on openness may have a desire to explore, enjoy novel

experiences and may have investigative career interests.

Neuroticism refers to the tendency to experience negative feelings and

moodiness. Facets of this trait include hostility, impulsiveness, depression and

anxiety. It has been associated with lower career maturity (Bailey, 2002).

Research regarding the big five traits and career development is summarized
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by Hartman (2006) as follows. Conscientiousness and agreeableness are linked to

positive aspects of career development. Neuroticism may lead to less effective career

decision making, career indecision and lower job performance and satisfaction.

Extraversion has been known to contribute to job satisfaction, higher job search self-

efficacy, and higher career stability. Openness has a mixed relationship with career

development, and no consistent relationship is seen with career outcome variables. It

is known to be negatively correlated with career information search behaviour.

Metacognition. Development of good decision-making and problem-solving

skills is critical for adolescents to make right choices by being able to think

hypothetically and logically (Gillespie, 1992). Decision-making skills are expected to

be better developed in later adolescence than in early adolescence. The importance of

information processing in decision making has been stressed in the cognitive

information processing theory. The five main steps of decision making are defining

the problem, generation of alternatives, evaluation, choice making, implementation

and evaluation of the outcome (Gillespie, 1992). Cognitive factors like decision-

making skills and beliefs about careers are known to influence career decision

making.

Decision making is often discussed umbrella of a broader concept called

metacognition. Flavell introduced the concept in 1979, and he defined metacognition

as “cognition about cognition” or “thinking about thinking” (Lai, 2011). It has also

been defined in cognitive psychology as a form of executive control involving

monitoring and self- regulation (Lai & Viering, 2012).

Schraw (1998) conceptualizes metacognition as a complex construct, a multi-

dimensional general set of skills that are applicable in multiple situations rather than
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something which is domain specific. He proposes that knowledge about cognition and

regulation of cognition are the two aspects of metacognition. Knowledge about

cognition comprises of three types of metacognitive awareness i.e. declarative

knowledge, procedural knowledge, and conditional knowledge. Regulation of

cognition involves skills for planning, monitoring, and evaluation. They provide skills

that aid in control of cognition in multiple domains.

Metacognition is an important aspect of career decision making (Lemeni,

2005). It is relevant in the context of career decision making as self- appraisal of one's

abilities, ability to evaluate tasks, and plan ways of working will aid the individual in

making the right career choice (Schraw & Dennison, 1994). Cognitive information

processing theory addresses the metacognitive component explicitly while learning

theory of Krumboltz, social cognitive career theory, and career mindset framework

incorporate this concept implicitly (Lemeni, 2005).

The cognitive information processing theory views metacognition as part of

the executive processing domain of the information processing pyramid. Self- talk,

self- awareness, and control and monitoring are the three necessary skills for

executive processing according to this theory. Self- talk involves thoughts about one’s

decision making. Self- awareness involves the capacity for identification of thoughts

and feelings about a decision. Control and monitoring is the use of the self- awareness

to guide decision making. Deficits in this domain can lead to career indecision, and

sub-optimal decision making (Paivandy, 2008). Assessment, training in, and use of

appropriate metacognitive strategies can help adolescents take better career decisions.

In this aspect, Aldona & Liuda (2004) have stressed the need for counselors to

develop more comprehensive programs which will help clients increase metacognitive

and decision-making skills in order to lead to effective career decisions. Cognitive

CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 18

skills that are developed through academic learning is known to aid success in one’s

career (ACT, 2007).

Extrinsic/ Contextual factors. Contextual factors may act as supportive

factors or barriers to career aspirations and final career choices.

Family. The family is a major influence on career development of individuals

as it is the reference point for many decisions and attitudes that the adolescent

develops (Sands, 2011). Family members play several roles in the life of an

adolescent from being an educator to a decision maker. Family may have direct

influences like financial and material support, and indirect influences through

transmission of values and expectations on the career of an individual (Bergen, 2006).

As per an interactional perspective proposed by Grotevant and Cooper (as cited in

Bergen, 2006) family influence and family circumstances can be facilitative or

inhibitive to exploration which is a key task in adolescent career development.

The exact nature of how family influences career development is not clearly

defined in literature. Structure of the family, roles assumed by family members, and

relationships between family members are known to influence vocational

development (Palos & Drobot, 2010). Families aid the initial phase of career decision

making by providing support and guidance for activities like building awareness

about careers, suggestions, access to facilities, and resources and a conducive

atmosphere for optimal decision making. Family processes like family

communication, interaction patterns (Olaosebikan & Olusakin, 2014) and parental

expectations and plans are seen to influence career aspirations of children (Sands,

2011). In the Indian context family and parental influence in children’s career

decision making is important, as family is actively involved in the adolescent’s life.

CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 19

They encourage children to at least study up to under- graduation.

Parenting style. Parents are known to play the single most significant role in

the career decision-making process of their children (Aldona & Liuda, 2004).

Parenting style has been defined as “broad patterns of child rearing practices, values,

and behaviours” (Kerka, 2000). The three parenting styles of permissive, authoritative

and authoritarian was discussed first by Baumrind. Parents were categorized on two

dimensions of control (demandingness) and warmth (responsiveness). The degree of

parental control varies among the parenting styles. Parenting style has been seen to

influence child characteristics in many areas (Natarajan, 2010).

The three parenting styles are described as follows (Natarajan, 2010).

Authoritarian parenting style is where parents are high on control but low on

warmth. Authoritarian parents are seen to be restrictive, rule-bound, disciplinarian

and place importance on perceived control rather than on autonomy. They insist

on unquestioning obedience and may be punitive.

Authoritative parenting style is where parents are seen to be high on control and

high on warmth. There is a balance between clear expectations and control.

Autonomy and discussion are valued along with the optimal amount of control.

Parents are stable, clear and there is freedom for decision making within

boundaries and limitations.

Permissive parents are seen to be high on warmth but low on control. Lack of

behavioural control by parents is seen, and children regulate their own behaviours.

They are non-punitive and non-controlling.

Parenting style has been studied in relation to vocational development as the

role of family has been highlighted in theories of career development. Parenting styles
CAREER DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENCE 20

and their effects on their children are different for South Asian cultures when

compared to western and East Asian cultures. Research on south Asian cultures

specifically on Indian population is limited (Natarajan, 2010) highlighting the need to

examine parenting styles and their influence on decision making in this context.

A multitude of factors influence career development. It is important to

understand the process of career decision making as it can help career guidance

professionals to develop effective career counseling modules as career related

decisions taken in adolescence will influence not only their future but also the

productivity in their career thereby influencing the entire societal structure. The role

of culturally determined aspects and the need to develop a career psychology for India

has been suggested by Arulmani (2013). Hence the focus of the current research will

be to identify the role of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence this important

decision in the life of a student in the Indian context.

Overview of the upcoming chapters

The research is organized in the following chapters as follows. Research done

in the area of career decision making has been reviewed in Chapter two. The rationale

for the present study has also been outlined in Chapter two. The research design and

methodology adopted in the study is explained in Chapter three. Chapter four outlines

the methods used for quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data and the

interpretation of the analysis. The findings are discussed in relation to previous

research in Chapter five. The research has been summarized and the implications of

the findings, limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are outlined

in Chapter six.