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Relieving career anxiety and indecision: the role of undergraduate students’ perceived control and faculty affiliations

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Abstract

As educators and mentors, we often focus on helping undergraduate students make career decisions. However, there is also value in helping alleviate career anxiety and indecision, both of which impede decision-making and are not automatically resolved once a decision is made. This research examined the role of individual differences (age, gender, and perceived control) and learning environment variables (year in university, participation in an orientation program, and faculty affiliations) as predictors of undergraduates’ (n = 844) career-related anxiety and indecision. Traditional individual difference variables like age and gender had little effect whereas perceived control (primary and secondary) predicted lower levels of career anxiety and indecision. The outcomes were not influenced by environmental factors such as year in university or completion of an orientation program, but students’ self-reported faculty affiliation had significant effects. Students who were not affiliated with any specific faculty reported more indecision than students in arts, science, and professional faculties. Likewise, students in professional faculties had less career anxiety and career indecision than arts students. The implications of these results for potential interventions and future research are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, 6-102 Education North, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G5, Canada

    Lia M. Daniels & Tatiana LoVerso

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, 206 Chancellor’s Hall, 177 Dysart Rd., Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Tara L. Stewart & Raymond P. Perry

  3. Department of Teaching and Learning, Higher Education Program, University of North Dakota, Dakota Hall, Grand Forks, ND, 58202-7189, USA

    Robert H. Stupnisky

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  1. Lia M. Daniels
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  2. Tara L. Stewart
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  4. Raymond P. Perry
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  5. Tatiana LoVerso
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Correspondence to Lia M. Daniels.

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Daniels, L.M., Stewart, T.L., Stupnisky, R.H. et al. Relieving career anxiety and indecision: the role of undergraduate students’ perceived control and faculty affiliations. Soc Psychol Educ 14, 409–426 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-010-9151-x

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