A Study On Career Decision-making Difficulties Of Undergraduates And The Relationship Between Personality And Career Decision-making Difficulties

It is an important sector of the researches of vocational psychology that undergraduates have difficulties in making Career Decision-making, thus the researches of such difficulties would do good to the development of career guidance theory and practice. Based on the Career Decision-making Difficulties model that put forward by Gati, Kraus and Osipow (1996), this paper has a discussion of the structures of these difficulties as well as a review of the relations between this kind of difficulty and the Big Five. Using a sample of 258 undergraduates, the validities and reliabilities of Career Decision-making Difficulties (CDDQ) and The Big Five Inventory (BFI) were test in the pilot study. A preliminary analysis has studied on the relationship between predictors and outcomes. Using a sample of 640 undergraduates to re-examine the validities and reliabilities of these instruments, the formal study focused on systematically analysis on the relationships of predictors and outcomes. The results are as follows:1. All scales used in the present studies have considerably good construct validities and highly internal consistency reliabilities.2. The structure of CDDQ (Chinese Edition) is consistent with the models of career decision-making difficulties by Gati (1996). The model Career Decision-making difficulties was to consist of three dimensionalities: Lack of readiness, Lack of information and Inconsistent information. Lack of readiness consists of three factors: lack of motivation, indecisiveness, dysfunctional Myths. Lack of information consists of the four factors: the lack of knowledge about process, the lack of information about self, the lack of information about occupations and the lack of information about ways of obtaining additional information. Inconsistent information includes the unreliable information, the external conflicts and internal conflicts.3. The career decision-making difficulties of the undergraduates are of medium level, the second in the three degrees of difficulties from high to low—lack of readiness, lack of information and inconsistent information. 4. The Career Decision-making Difficulties of the undergraduates in Guangxi are affected by sex, grade, major and career guidance.(1) Focused on"Lack of readiness","Indecisiveness","Lack of information"and"Lack of information about ways of obtaining additional information", female have more difficulties of such kind than male do.(2) Focused on"Lack of information","Lack of information about self"and"Lack of information about ways of obtaining additional information", sophomores have the highest level. Focused on"Lack of readiness"and"Lack of motivation", seniors have the highest level.(3) It is much harder for undergraduates of artistic majors to do career decisions than those of scientific majors.(4) There was no evident discrepancy between the career decision-making difficulties of undergraduates coming from only-one-child families and more-than one-child families.(5) Undergraduates that have received career guidance would have fewer difficulties than those that have not.5. Personality would play a forecasting role in the career decision-making difficulties.(1) The correlation between personality and career decision-making difficulties was statistically significant.(2) Extraversion factor had statistically significant negative effects in predicting lack of information. Agreeableness factor had statistically significant negative effects in predicting lack of readiness and lack of information. Neuroticism factor had statistically significant positive effects in predicting lack of readiness, lack of information and Inconsistent information. Openness factor had statistically significant negative effects in predicting lack of information. Conscientiousness factor had statistically significant negative effects in predicting lack of readiness and lack of information.These findings above suggest that the framework of career decision-making difficulties which constructed by Gati and Osipow (1996) can be used to vocational guidance and vocational counseling. It may be valid for diagnose of career decision-making difficulties of undergraduates. Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness and Conscientiousness should not only be viewed as a complete predictor or a partial predictor.