Manual 2.3

A MIXED METHODS STUDY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL
FACTORS IN CAREER DECISION MAKING IN

ADOLESCENTS
A thesis submitted to the Christ University for the award of the

degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
PSYCHOLOGY
By
AMTOOR PAVANA RAO
(Register Number: 1344201)
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF
DR. K. JAYASANKARA REDDY
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology,

Christ University
Centre for Research

Christ University, Bengaluru-560029
MAY 2017
vii
ABSTRACT
Career choice is an important developmental task in adolescence and is
influenced by many factors. Using a mixed methods research design, this study aimed
to understand career decision making and factors influencing the same in adolescents.
In the quantitative phase the relationship between career maturity and perceived
parenting style, personality traits, metacognition, socio- economic status, gender,
college type, stream of study and decision status was studied in students studying in II
Year Pre- University in Bangalore, India. Career decisions, personal and family
factors in career decision making were explored in the qualitative phase. Informed
consent was obtained from the participants and parents of the participants of the
study.
Quantitative data was collected from 548 students studying in Arts, Science
and Commerce stream in second year Pre- University in Bangalore. Students from
eight private and seven government colleges were recruited for the study. Quantitative
data was collected using a socio- demographic data sheet, Career Maturity Inventory,
Parental Authority Questionnaire, Neo Five Factor Inventory and Metacognitive
Awareness Inventory. The scales were translated to Kannada and back translated. In
the qualitative phase, data was collected through a semi- structured interview schedule
designed for this study. 30 students who were a part of the quantitative phase took
part in this phase. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis.
Statistical analysis was done to analyze quantitative data. Descriptive
statistics, correlation, regression analysis, t tests and one-way ANOVA was done.
Qualitative data was analyzed by template analysis and themes were derived from the
data. The results revealed associations between personality traits neuroticism,
openness and conscientiousness and specific aspects of career maturity attitude and
viii
competence. Authoritarian parenting style was seen to have a negative association
with career maturity while authoritative parenting style had a positive association with
specific aspects of career maturity. Significant differences were observed between
male and female participants on some aspects of career maturity. Career maturity was
significantly higher in students from higher socio- economic status, students from
private colleges and students who had made a decision about their career choice.
When taken together perceived parenting style, personality traits, and metacognition,
socio- economic status, gender, college type, stream of study and decision status had a
moderate combined influence on all aspects of career maturity.
Data from the interviews was transcribed, coded and themes were derived
using template analysis. Triangulation was done to ensure reliability and to reduce
bias in the analysis process. The global themes that emerged from the data were
academic and career choices and factors influencing career choices. The sub- themes
under the global theme academic and career choices were satisfaction with career
choice, decision status, decision making as a process from the eighth standard to 12th
standard, sources of information about careers and career expectations. Intrinsic
factors, extrinsic factors, and career-related factors also emerged as sub- themes. The
role of family in this regard has been highlighted in this study. The findings reveal
that individual, external and contextual factors influence career decisions in
adolescents. These results can be used to develop context specific theoretical models
and career counseling interventions.
Key words: Career decision-making, career choice, career maturity, career
expectations, adolescent, personality, family, parenting style, decision making,
metacognition, factors influencing career decisions

ii
DECLARATION
I, Amtoor Pavana Rao, hereby declare that the thesis titled “A MIXED
METHODS STUDY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS IN CAREER
DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENTS” submitted to Christ University,
Bengaluru in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology is a record of original and independent research
work done by me under the supervision of Dr. K. Jayasankara Reddy, Associate
Professor, Department of Psychology, Christ University. I also declare that this
thesis or any part of it has not been submitted to any other University/Institute for the
award of any degree
Place:
Date:
Amtoor Pavana Rao

iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
No work is possible without the grace of God, and am ever thankful for the
blessings he has showered on me. Many people have helped me in the span of this
research and I take this opportunity to thank each one them.
I would first like to express my gratitude and acknowledge the contribution of
my guide Dr. K. Jayasankara Reddy who has supported me throughout this research.
His understanding nature, ever smiling face, encouragement and input at every stage
of this research has made it possible for me to move forward and complete my
research. Thank you Sir for guiding and motivating me.
I am grateful to Dr (Fr) Thomas C. Mathew, Vice Chancellor of Christ
University and the management of Christ University for offering a program that
allowed me to pursue my research and at the same time fulfill my personal
commitments to my family. My gratitude to all the staff of the Department of
Psychology and Centre for Research, Christ University for their support.
I express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Tony Sam George, Head, Department of
Psychology and Additional Director, Centre for Research, Christ University, for being
a huge support and helping me willingly at every stage in my research inspite of his
very busy schedule. Thank you Sir for your valuable inputs and guidance especially
with regard to my qualitative analysis and for reviewing my interview schedule.
I thank Dr. Srikanta Swamy former Additional Director, Centre for Research,
Christ University who encouraged and supported me in the initial stages of my
research. I extend my gratitude to Dr. Baiju Gopal, Associate Professor, Department
of Psychology for helping me review my interview schedule. My gratitude to Dr. Rati
M.T. Associate Professor from the Department of Kannada for helping me with the
v
translation of my scales. My sincere thanks to Mr. James Kurian, Assistant
Coordinator, Centre for Research, Christ University for patiently and promptly
attending to all my queries and requests. Mr. Sreekumar Nair deserves a special
mention from me for being always helpful with queries related to the library. I thank
Dr. Gideon from the Promise foundation for giving me his time and input and for
encouraging me. I thank Ms. Nivya and Dr. Tinku Thomas from St. Johns Research
Institute for helping me with my statistical analysis.
I am indebted to all the Colleges for giving me permission to conduct my
research in their college and the participants of my study for giving me their time
without which this research would not have been possible.
I extend my thank you to Keerti maam who has been a friend, a guide and a
huge support in the last three years. I also thank Nisha maam, Sharon maam and Sr.
Dolly for helping me in many ways. A special thank you to my dear friends Chhaya
and Sweety for helping me in a time of need with this research.
This work has only been possible with the love, support and encouragement of
my family, my biggest strength. Words cannot express my gratitude to my strongest
pillars of support, my second set of parents, my mother in-law Vanaja and my father
in-law Nagaraj, who have supported me in every small and big way possible. Thank
you for everything appa and amma. I am thankful for the support from my parents
Divaker and Sujatha for always being there and doing everything that they can to help
me. My children Tulasi and Hari have been most understanding in their own way and
I thank God for their presence in my life. I thank my sister Meghana, brother in law
Anand and every member of my entire extended family (G20 and Saralayas) who
have encouraged and supported me in everything I do. Lastly, I thank my husband
Swaroop for being who he is, a pillar of support and a true life partner. I would not
vi
have embarked on and pursued this journey without your presence and unconditional
support.
I also thank all the others whom I have not mentioned but have been a part of
my life in the last three years. Thank you everyone.
A. Pavana Rao
ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ........................................................................................................... ii
CERTIFICATE .............................................................................................................iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... iv
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. ix
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ xi
LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................xiii
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1
Career and Career Guidance- The Concept and its Evolution ................................... 2
Context and Career Guidance .................................................................................... 3
Career in the Indian context ....................................................................................... 5
Career Decision Making............................................................................................. 5
Theories of Career Development ............................................................................... 6
Career Maturity ........................................................................................................ 10
Factors Influencing Career Decision Making .......................................................... 13
Overview of the upcoming chapters ......................................................................... 20
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ................................................................... 21
Career Decision Making........................................................................................... 22

Factors influencing Career Decision Making ........................................................... 27
Summary of the Review of Literature ...................................................................... 57
Rationale for the Study ............................................................................................. 58
METHOD .................................................................................................................... 62
Objectives ................................................................................................................. 62
Research Design ....................................................................................................... 62
Quantitative Phase .................................................................................................... 68
Qualitative Phase ...................................................................................................... 80
Summary .................................................................................................................. 83
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ..................................................................... 84
Quantitative Data Analysis and Interpretation ......................................................... 84

Qualitative Data Analysis and Interpretation ......................................................... 117
x
Summary of Findings ............................................................................................. 141

DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................ 142
Discussion of Quantitative Research Findings ....................................................... 142

Discussion of Qualitative Research Findings ......................................................... 152
Integration of Qualitative and Quantitative Findings ............................................. 169
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION .......................................................................... 174
Summary ................................................................................................................ 174

Implications ............................................................................................................ 177
Limitations and Suggestions .................................................................................. 179
Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 180
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 181
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... 207
Appendix A Informed Consent Form (Participants) ........................................... 207

Appendix B Informed Consent Form (Parent) .................................................... 208
Appendix C Socio Demographic Data Sheet ...................................................... 209
Appendix D Career Maturity Inventory .............................................................. 210
Appendix E Metacognitive Awareness Inventory .............................................. 230
Appendix F Neo Five Factor Inventory .............................................................. 233
Appendix G Parental Authority Questionnaire .................................................... 235
Appendix H Semi- Structured Interview Schedule .............................................. 238
Appendix I Informed Consent Form – Kannada (Parent) ................................... 239
Appendix J Informed Consent Form – Kannada (Participant) ............................ 240
Appendix K Socio Demographic Data Sheet – Kannada ..................................... 241
Appendix L Career Maturity Inventory – Kannada ............................................. 242
Appendix M Metacognitive Awareness Inventory – Kannada ............................ 266
Appendix N Neo Five Factor Inventory – Kannada ............................................ 269
Appendix O Parental Authority Questionnaire – Kannada .................................. 272
Appendix P List of Presentations and Publications ........................................... 276
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Sample Description across Gender, Stream of Study and Type of College .. 74
Table 2 Sample Description for the Qualitative Phase ............................................... 81
Table 3 Reliability Coefficients for Sub-Scales of the Career Maturity Inventory .... 86
Table 4 Reliability Coefficients for Parental Authority Questionnaire ...................... 86
Table 5 Reliability Coefficient for Metacognitive Awareness Inventory .................. 86
Table 6 Reliability Coefficients for Neo Five Factor Inventory ................................. 87
Table 7 Sample description for Socio-Economic Status, SSLC percentage, Decision
status and Exposure to Career Counseling ................................................ 88
Table 8 Distribution of scores on Career Maturity Attitude Scale, Career Maturity
Competence Scales, Metacognition and Personality traits in the Sample 89
Table 9 Correlation between Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales with
Personality traits ........................................................................................ 90
Metacognition ........................................................................................... 91
Parenting Styles ......................................................................................... 92
Table 12 Comparison of Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales across
Authoritarian (A), Authoritative (Au) and Permissive (Pe) Parenting
Styles ......................................................................................................... 93
Table 13 Comparison of Career Maturity Attitude and Competency scales between
Male and Female Participants ................................................................... 95
Table 14 Comparison of Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales between
Socio Economic Status (SES) Categories ................................................. 96

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College Type ............................................................................................. 99
Arts, Science, and Commerce Streams ................................................... 100
Decided and Undecided groups .............................................................. 101
Table 18 Results for Multiple Linear Regression analysis with variables Openness,
Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, College type, Decision Status, Socio-
Economic Status, Parenting Style predicting Career Maturity Attitude . 103
Table 19 Results for Multiple Linear Regression analysis with variables Openness,
College type, Decision Status, Stream of study, Socio-Economic Status
(SES) predicting Competency one (Self- Appraisal) .............................. 105
Table 20 Results for Multiple Linear Regression analysis with variables Gender,
College type, Decision Status, Parenting Style, Socio-economic Status
(SES) predicting Competency two (Occupational Information) ............. 107
Decision Status, Parenting Style, Socio-Economic Status predicting
Competency Three (Goal Selection) ....................................................... 110
Table 22 Results for Multiple Linear Regression analysis with variables College type,
Decision Status, Socio-Economic Status, Parenting style and Neuroticism
predicting Competency Four (Planning) ................................................. 112
Parenting Style, Decision Status, Stream of study, Socioeconomic status
predicting Competency Five (Problem Solving) .................................... 114
Table 24 Themes and Sub-themes ............................................................................. 120

xiii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Theories of Career Development .................................................................. 6
Figure 2. Pyramid of Information Processing .............................................................. 9
Figure 3. Graphical Representation of Research Design ........................................... 65
Figure 4. Sources of Information about Career Choices .......................................... 123
Figure 5. Factors influencing Career Decisions ....................................................... 126
Figure 6. Factors Aiding Satisfaction with Career Choice ...................................... 166
Figure 7. Influence of Family pressure and Forced Choice on Satisfaction with
Choice ..................................................................................................... 166
Figure 8. Relationship between Supportive family, Open communication, and
Freedom for choice ................................................................................. 167
Figure 9. Relationship between Family Financial Condition, Family attitude,
Family pressure and Family support with Career Choice ....................... 167
Figure 10. Factors influencing Family Support ......................................................... 168
Figure 11. Influence of Attitude of Society on Family attitude towards Careers ...... 168
Figure 12. Gender and Career Choice ........................................................................ 169

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,

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).

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.

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
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
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

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).

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

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
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
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

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)

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.

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
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
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

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.

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
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.
Review of Related Literature
Career choice is a critical decision every individual makes as it impacts all
aspects of his life in the future. Research done in this area was reviewed using the
main key words career decision making, career choice, career maturity, career
expectations, adolescent, personality, family, parenting style, decision making,
metacognition, and factors influencing career decisions. Electronic databases like
Proquest, Ebsco Host, and Google Scholar were used for the literature review. Print
editions of books that were available were also used.
A number of factors influence career choices in people, and this is documented
in literature. Both personal and external factors have been seen to play a role. The
complex interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic factors and their influence on career
decision making has been stressed by theorists and researchers (Bandura,
Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 2001; Borchert, 2002; Sands, 2011). Several
studies have focused on specific aspects of career decision making and various
combinations of factors that influence career decision making.
Specifically, the research done on psychosocial correlates of career decision
making and career maturity is discussed in this chapter. The chapter is organized in
the following manner.
Career decision making- career expectations, career planning.
Factors influencing career decision making.
Individual factors- age, gender, personality, and cognitive variables like
metacognition, personal interest.
Contextual factors- socio-economic status, school type, family variables.

Career Decision Making
Decisions regarding careers and career choices require significant thought and
preparation. Career maturity, career decidedness, decision status, career planning and
career expectations have been explored as different aspects of career decision making.
Research in the area of career planning, career expectations and decision status in
adolescence is discussed in this section.
Career planning and information seeking about careers. An individual’s
exposure to the world of work begins in childhood. Preparing for a career is an
important task in adolescence when career exploration is a key developmental task.
Exploration involves active seeking of information about careers. Therefore it has
been of interest to researchers to explore the various avenues from which adolescents
seek career information. Parents have consistently been reported as the main source of
information by students (Levine & Hoffner, 2006; Millward, Houston, Brown, &
Barrett, 2006). In addition, educational institutions, part-time work, peers, mass
media, have been identified as sources of information about careers for adolescents
(Levine & Hoffner, 2006). 64 students took part in a survey using a questionnaire to
study the role of these five aspects on career information. Data from all open-ended
questions was coded and validated. Parents were reported to be the most significant
source of positive and negative information about careers followed by part time jobs,
peers, and others.
Julien (1999) using a mixed methods design explored the information seeking
behavior, sources of information seeking and barriers to information seeking
regarding careers in 399 adolescents in Canada. Quantitative data was collected using
a questionnaire, and qualitative data was collected from 30 students through
interviews. Analysis revealed that nearly half the sample was not aware of where they
could get help and about the importance of trustworthiness of the source of
information. The need for more organized information regarding careers and need for
easy availability of the same has been brought out in this study.
Career planning though important is seen to be lacking in adolescents. This
was reported by Millward et al. (2006). The career planning needs of senior high
school students in Canada was explored by Witko, Bernes, Magnusson, and Bardick
(2005). They surveyed 2941 students from 52 schools. Quantitative and qualitative
analyses were done. The results reveal that majority of the participants viewed career
planning as an important task for them. They also reported that they would approach
parents mostly for help in this regard followed by relatives, friends, counselors, and
then teachers. The participants stressed the need for better career counseling services.
The researchers have suggested exploration of the influence of cultural and
psychosocial factors on career planning in adolescents.
The studies suggest the need to develop more organized access to career
information and more importantly educate students about the need for information
seeking and availability of information and career options within their socio-cultural
context.
Career expectations. Expectations from a career and vocational aspirations
guide the choices of individuals and aids in the identification of educational choices,
future goals, and career options. Hence researchers have explored career aspirations.
Vocational aspirations can be influenced by gender (Agarwala, 2008; Millward et al.,
2006), socio- economic status and academic performance (Patton & Creed, 2007).
Patton and Creed (2007) found a relationship between career maturity attitude
and knowledge components and occupational aspirations in 333 high school students.
These students were assessed on measures of career maturity, career indecision, career
goals, self- esteem, and school achievement. They reported gender differences in
occupational aspirations and expectations.
Using a developmental contextual framework Ma and Yeh (2010) studied the
educational and career plans of 265 Chinese immigrant youth. They explored how
perceived environmental barriers, fluency in English, parental support for career-
related variables and parents’ value on achievement predicts career and educational
plans and expectations. Analysis of data revealed that English language fluency and
parental support was related to higher career aspirations while perceived educational
barriers led to negative attitudes.
Chandna (2014) studied the career maturity levels and level of aspiration and
the relationship between them in 120 adolescents in India. Gender differences,
differences based on place of residence (rural, urban), and type of school were also
investigated. Majority of the sample had an average level of career maturity. They,
however, did not find significant differences in career maturity and level of aspiration
based on the type of school, gender, and rural and urban participants.
A survey was conducted in India by the Ph.D. Research Bureau (2014) to
understand student perceptions and career expectations, finance management, income
sources, and expenditures. The participants were 3000 students studying in under-
graduation and post- graduation courses in Delhi-NCR region, India. Financial
stability was one of the main expectation of the student’s. 44% of the students
preferred private sector jobs while 36% preferred government jobs.
A longitudinal mixed methods research was conducted on 918 secondary
school students in the Pacific Islands. The aim of the research was to understand
career pathway development and factors influencing subject choices and career
choices of these students. They explored career aspirations and expectations of these
students and found that two-thirds of the sample were undecided about their career
choice, and 33% had no career aspirations. Professional, community or personal
service careers were preferred more than trade careers. Structured career planning was
seen to be absent. Students reported of relying on family for advice regarding careers
(Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, 2014). Thus it can be seen that career aspirations
and expectations can influence future career choices.
Career preferences. Career preferences depends on career expectations and
other factors like occupational stereotypes. In the Indian society, a preference for
careers related to engineering and medicine has been reported. This is illustrated by
the findings of the following studies. Janetius, Mini, and Chellaturai (2011) reported
that 36% of students preferred engineering as a career choice while 20% preferred
medicine. Agriculture was the least preferred occupation of the participants. Similarly,
science and technology and education were most preferred careers while agriculture
was the least preferred career as seen in a study conducted on 300 Indian adolescents
studying in graduate colleges in Kanpur, India (Shakya & Singh, 2013). No
significant gender differences were seen in assessment at six months. The reasons for
career preferences ranged from prestige attributions to occupations to job
opportunities.
Decision status. Adolescents are expected to have made a tentative career
choice, and a body of literature has emerged to explore the correlates of decidedness
and indecision related to career choices. Career indecision refers to “the individual’s
decisional or behavioral actions pertaining to difficulty and avoidance in making
decisions and commitments” (Cheung, Cheung, & Wu, 2014). Osipow and Gati (as
cited in Cheung et al., 2014) define career unreadiness as “a difficulty in forming
decisions about and beliefs in an enduring vocational commitment”. While earlier
research focused more on career indecision, recent research also focuses on studying
characteristics of individuals who have made a decision about their future. Career
decidedness and indecision has been examined in relation to various variables.
Rani, Gupta, and Sharma (2013) studied the relationship between career
maturity and decision status, academic performance, and locus of control using an ex-
post facto 2X2 factorial design. The sample consisted of 600 students studying in XI
standard. Statistical analysis using t-tests and analysis of variance revealed that career
maturity was significantly higher in students who are decided about their careers, high
academic performers, and participants with an internal locus of control. However, no
interaction effects were seen. This study brings out the links between individual
factors and career maturity.
The adverse effects of career indecision is highlighted in the following studies.
The link between career unreadiness, authoritarian parenting, and anxiety was
investigated by Cheung et al. (2014). It was hypothesized that career unreadiness
mediates the effect of authoritarian parenting style on anxiety. 229 undergraduates
from a University in Hong Kong participated in the study. Results obtained by
structural equation modeling reveal that career unreadiness mediated the effect of
authoritarian parenting style on anxiety.
When compared to decided students, undecided students had greater negative
career thoughts and career decision-making difficulties while they had lower career
decision-making self-efficacy. These findings were reported in a study by Bullock-
Yowell, McConnell, and Schedin (2014) where they studied decision status and
administered Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale- Short form, Occupational
Alternatives Questionnaire, Career Thoughts Inventory, and Career Decision
Difficulties Questionnaire. Gender differences were seen in career decision-making
self-efficacy. Lack of information was associated with career indecision as undecided
students did not differ from decided students on readiness to make a decision. The
exact nature of the relationship between these variables cannot, however, be known.
The studies reveal that career indecision is linked to career decision-making
difficulties. More studies can focus on the causes of career indecision and suggest
ways to improve career decidedness in adolescence to promote effective career
decision making.
Factors influencing Career Decision Making
Individual and contextual factors are known to influence career choice and
career development. Research related to individual and contextual factors is outlined
in this section.
Individual characteristics. Factors intrinsic to the person and their
relationship with various aspects of career decision making is illustrated in literature.
Personality, self- esteem, interests, aptitudes and cognitive factors have been
implicated to influence career development.
A mixed methods study surveyed the career choices and career shifts of youth
in Mumbai and also influences on their career choices as perceived by youth and their
satisfaction with their career. In the 68 youth that they surveyed, they found career
choices to be specific for class and gender. The ratings of the importance of influence
were highest for self, followed by family and least influence was seen by career
guidance services. The combination of the importance of self and family was high in
comparison to only self individually (Bakshi et al., 2012). Similarly, personal and
family factors influencing career choices in management students in Sri Lanka was
investigated by Anojan and Nimalathasan (2013). The sample consisted of 103
management students and data was collected using a survey. Personal factors were
seen to be the most influential factor in comparison to family, occupational, market-
related factors and university related factors. Research related to gender, age,
personality traits, and cognitive factors has been reviewed in the following section.
Gender. The influence of gender on career development is significant as
individuals internalize gender roles propagated by their culture. Socialization, child
rearing practices, and career expectations vary with gender. Career genderization
starts in middle school or early in high school (Adya & Kaiser, 2005). Earlier, careers
were seen to be a journey that only men embarked upon while women were more
inclined towards the management of the family and home. However, this has changed
with changes in social structures all over the world. Today women are also career-
oriented and pursue careers just like their male counterparts. In such times gender role
stereotyping may limit opportunities for both sexes.
Links have been found between gender and career development (Arulmani &
Nag-Arulmani, 2006). The need to investigate if career related decisions are gender-
free or influenced by gender has been advocated in literature (Koumoundourou,
Tsaousis, & Kounenou, 2011).
Several studies have found gender differences in several aspects of career
development like career maturity, career decision making self- efficacy, and career
decision-making difficulties. Gender differences in career maturity have also been
seen in several studies. In some studies, female participants were seen to have higher
career maturity scores, while in others male participants were seen to have higher
scores.
In one of the early studies, Luzzo (1995) studied gender differences in career
maturity using a mixed method research design. Quantitative data was collected using
the Career Maturity Inventory, Career Development Inventory, and Vocational
Preference Inventory. Individual interviews were used to collect qualitative data.
Statistical analysis revealed that female participants scored significantly higher scores
on measures of career maturity. Interview data brings out the role conflicts and
barriers that female participants faced. Both sexes expressed financial concerns.
In a study conducted on 367 school students across grade levels 8-12, career
maturity attitude and knowledge, career decidedness, career decision-making self-
efficacy, self-esteem and demographic variables were assessed. Multiple regression
analysis revealed age, gender, decidedness level and work commitment to be
significant predictors of career maturity knowledge (Creed & Patton, 2003).
Hasan (2006) explored the contribution of self-concept, vocational aspirations
and gender on career maturity in 480 Indian adolescents in the age range of 14-16
years using a 2x2x2 factorial ‘ex-post-facto’ non-experimental design. The
independent variables were seen to predict variance in career maturity. Contrary to
other findings male subjects were seen to have higher career maturity than female
subjects.
Gender differences in career decision-making difficulties using the Career
Decision Difficulties Questionnaire was investigated in a sample of 347 Australian
high school students (Albion, 2000). Career decidedness was comparable between
boys and girls in the sample. Career knowledge was higher in boys, while flexibility
regarding careers and motivation was seen to be higher in girls in this sample.
Millward et al. (2006) attempted to understand perceptions of 2447 youth aged
between 14 and 19 years in the UK regarding preferences for work and jobs and the
role of gender in the same. In a mixed methods research project they used surveys,
interviews document analysis and intervention to collect data. They found the
presence of strong gender stereotypes that influenced career choices. They also
reported the presence of differences in career expectations with boys placing higher
importance on financial aspects while girls placed more importance on work-life
balance and job attributes. In-depth knowledge about jobs was seen to be absent. Most
participants placed high importance on parental advice. However, participants also
depended on their personal instincts when making career choices.
A paucity of research on factors influencing career choices of students in India
was highlighted by Agarwala (2008). In a study on factors that affect career choices in
MBA students in India, she explored the importance of relationships and their
influence on career choices of 93 students. Father was seen to have a significant
influence on career choice for both male and female students. Gender differences
were seen with financial rewards being the most important determinant for a career
choice in males while for female participant’s skills, competencies and abilities were
more important.
Career maturity was assessed in relation to the level of aspiration and gender
in adolescents (Lal, 2013-14). 120 students in the senior secondary class were
evaluated using the Vocational Attitude Maturity Scale and Level of Aspiration
measure. The results revealed that female adolescents had higher vocational maturity
than male adolescents.

A qualitative study conducted on 23 Indian undergraduate students from Arts,
Science and Commerce streams explored career decision making and associated
difficulties. Using content analysis, they found the presence of gender differences in
decision status and confidence, nature of difficulties in the career decision-making
process, thought process for decision making, and measures that were undertaken to
smoothen the career decision-making process. For the same themes, differences were
observed between the streams for decision status and nature of difficulties. Input from
participants regarding the need for and suggestions for the development of career
guidance programs was discussed in this study (Monteiro, 2015).
Ansari (2016) explored the level of career maturity and level of occupational
aspiration in 100 students in Delhi, India. Quantitative analysis of the data revealed
significant gender differences in career maturity with female students having higher
career maturity scores than male students. However, there were no differences in
occupational aspirations based on gender.
Momin and Chetry (2016) explored self- knowledge in relation to career
choices in 237 students in standalone institutions. The self- appraisal scale of the
Career Maturity Inventory was administered. Significant differences in scores were
seen between male and female participants with male participants having higher
career maturity. The results are in line with other research in this area. However, it
should be noted that only a sub-scale of the Career Maturity Inventory was used to
understand career maturity.
Research on career maturity and age is inconclusive as some studies find that
career maturity increases with age while some do not. In a study by Patton and Creed
(2001) on 1971 students in the age range of 12-17 years, a developmental progression
was seen in career maturity though gender did not show a very uniform pattern.
Career maturity was more linked to grade than age maybe because of academic
decisions that students are expected to make at certain grades. Many interventions
have been developed in the area of career counseling to help students overcome career
related indecision and make appropriate choices. It has been suggested that these
interventions are more helpful when conducted in high school (age >15) as compared
to middle school (Pond, 2010).
The review suggests mixed support for gender differences on various aspects
of career decision making. The results vary with some studies showing gender
differences on aspects of career development like career development and career
decision self- efficacy while others did not show similar results. Most of the research
in this area are quantitative in nature. Qualitative data might bring out the subtle role
that gender socialization plays in influencing career choices.
Personality. The relationship between personality and career decision making
is important as developmentally personality precedes other vocational and career-
related variables (Lounsbury, Hutchens, & Loveland, 2005). The five factor model of
personality emerged from both lexical study, and study of questionnaires used in
personality research. This model of personality has been widely studied across
cultures and has been found to remain stable across cultures. 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 the career
decision-making process. Barrick, Mount, and Gupta (2003, pp.46-47) define the five
traits of the five-factor model of personality and their prototypical characteristics as
follows: Extraversion (sociable, active, energetic), agreeableness (cooperative,
considerate, trusting), conscientiousness (dependable, organized, persistent),

emotional stability (calm, secure, unemotional), and openness to experience
(imaginative, intellectual, artistically sensitive).
Research exploring the relationship between personality and aspects of career
development is reviewed here. Lounsbury et al. (1999) examined the relationship
between career decidedness and the big five personality constructs. Data was
collected from 249 students using the Career Decidedness Inventory, Neo Five Factor
Inventory, Personal Style Inventory and Life Satisfaction Scale. They found that, as
expected, the level of career decidedness was negatively correlated with neuroticism
and positively correlated with conscientiousness and agreeableness.
Borchert (2002) explored the role of personality and opportunity in career
choices. Data was collected from 325 students using an anonymous survey.
Personality was seen to have a significant influence on career choice of the students.
However, environment and opportunity were not perceived by the participants as
having a substantial influence on the same.
Personality and cognitive correlates of career maturity were explored by
Coertse and Schepers (2004). 1476 first year students of a South African University
participated in the study. Aspects of career development, personality, level of
adjustment, learning strategies, locus of control, scholastic aptitude and academic
performance were assessed. They found a strong link between personality and career
maturity and emphasize the need for assessment of personality in the career guidance
process. Career mature students were seen to have a more stable personality, better
adjustment, internal locus of control, and academic performance in this study.
The relationship between career decidedness and personality in early and
middle adolescence was investigated by Lounsbury et al. (2005). Using the

Adolescent Personal Style Inventory and Career Decidedness Scale they found an
association between conscientiousness and career decidedness. Openness and
agreeableness were positively associated with career decidedness for early and middle
adolescents
A study using a factorial design was conducted on 320 adolescents studying in
the tenth standard in India to find out the role of personality factors extraversion and
neuroticism and gender in the career decision-making process. The personality
framework proposed by Eysenck was used. Analysis by 2x2x2 ANOVA revealed that
both factors and sex predicted significant variance in career decision-making. Male
participants had higher career decision making scores than female participants
(Kushwaha & Hasan, 2005).
Examining the differences in big five personality traits, motivational factors
and career decision-making difficulties between career decided, and undecided
students, Pečjak and Košir (2007) conducted a survey with 641 students. Significant
differences were seen in personality dimensions between decided and undecided
students. They showed higher levels of extraversion, conscientiousness, openness and
emotional stability. They were also reported to have significantly lower levels of
career decision-making difficulties.
Rogers, Creed, and Glendon (2008) studied the role of personality, social
support, self– efficacy, outcome expectations, and goals in career planning in 414
Australian high school students. In support of the social cognitive career theory they
found an association between career exploration and goals and social support; and
between career planning and goals, self-efficacy and personality.
Feldt and Woelfel (2009) attempted to study the incremental validity of self-
efficacy expectations and anticipated career outcomes, gender and personality on
career decision making. The study was based on the social cognitive theory
framework. Career Decision Scale and Neo Five Factor Inventory was administered to
179 undergraduate students. Analysis revealed that neuroticism, agreeableness, and
conscientiousness were predictive of career indecision. Neuroticism, agreeableness,
conscientiousness, self-efficacy beliefs and job outcome expectations were all seen to
influence career decisions.
Significant relationships between career decision-making constructs and big
five personality traits have been reported in a study conducted on 230 high school
students. Correlation analysis revealed the presence of an inverse relationship between
neuroticism and career decidedness while a significant positive relationship between
conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness and extraversion with career decidedness
was reported (Al-Kalbani, Salleh, & Mastor, 2011).
Bethencourt and Cabrera (2011) studied the relationship between career
decision-making and personality in Spanish undergraduate students. They
hypothesized efficient personality to be associated with mature career decision
making. The results obtained by factorial analysis and analysis of variance supported
the hypothesis establishing the link between efficient personality and career decision-
making process.
Bullock-Yowell, Andrews, and Buzzetta (2011) explored the effect of big five
personality traits, career thoughts and cultural mistrust on career decision-making
self-efficacy in 322 undergraduate African American and Caucasian students. Positive
correlations were seen between career decision-making self- efficacy and all five of
the big five personality traits. Regression analysis revealed that a significant variance
(45%) in career decision-making self- efficacy could be attributed to career thoughts,
openness, and conscientiousness.
Datu (2012), studied the relationship between career preferences and big five
personality factors and paternal parenting style in 200 Filipino College Freshman.
They used a descriptive- predictive research design. The Big Five Inventory and
Parental Authority Questionnaire were used to collect data. They found significant
relationships between gender, neuroticism, and authoritarian parenting style.
Neuroticism and authoritarian parenting style were also found to have a significant
predictive role in career selection. This research also confirms the cross-cultural
validity of the big five factors proposed by Costa and McCrae.
The relationship between career indecisiveness and personality factors in 200
Greek high school students was explored by Kounenou (2014). The students were
assessed using Emotional and Personality Career Difficulties Scale and Core Self-
Evaluation Scale. Analysis using correlation revealed that certain personality
characteristics like locus of control, self-esteem, self-efficacy and anxiety were related
to career decision-making difficulties.
Career indecision and its relationship with big five personality traits were
studied in a sample consisting of 248 high school students in Italy (Di Fabio,
Palazzeschi, Levin, & Gati, 2014). They found that extraversion and neuroticism were
significantly linked to career indecision in these students and therefore highlighted the
role of personality factors in career indecision in adolescents.
Jenkins and Jeske (2015) investigated the role of personality, parental support,
and role models on career decision making and career exploration in 218 high school
students from Northern England and American Mid-West. They reported that
proactive individuals were more likely to engage in information seeking than
indecisive individuals who need additional support. Online role models and home
environment and support were seen to aid information seeking and help develop
career-related skills.
The research on the relationship between career indecision and career
decision-making difficulties and the five-factor model of personality was reviewed in
a meta- analysis of 21 studies published between 1996 and 2012 (Martincin & Stead,
2015). A significant positive relationship was seen between neuroticism and
difficulties in career decision making while significant negative relationships were
seen between agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness and extraversion with career
decision-making difficulties.
Career choice was studied in connection with personality factors, parental and
social influences and monthly income of families in students aspiring to pursue a
career in Engineering (Ghosh, 2016). 120 students from XI and XII grades aspiring to
become engineers from Kolkata, India, and 30 engineers participated in the study.
Sixteen Personality Factor Inventory, Perceived Impact of Parental Influence
Questionnaire and Perceived Impact of Social Influence Questionnaire was
administered to collect data. Analysis revealed that students aspiring to be engineers
were found to score high on warmth, conscientiousness, and were trustful and self-
sufficient. These traits were also found to be present in professional engineers.
Parental influence on career choice was higher for boys and also in higher income
groups.
Research related to personality and various aspects of career decision making
has been reviewed in this section. The findings reveal a considerably strong link
between personality and career decision making. Most studies have used the big five
theory of personality to define personality. However, research in the Indian context is
limited. Studies have mostly used a correlational approach and taken their sample
from undergraduate courses. Research can also focus on younger students to see if
evolving personality traits have an association with career decision making. Specific
personality traits have been associated with aspects of career development. Research
has mainly focused on the relationship between career decidedness/ indecision and
personality. Neuroticism is seen to be strongly related to career indecision. Research
can also concentrate on the interaction of personality factors with other family and
personal factors and its influence on career decisions. The review suggests the need to
include personality assessment in career guidance programs.
Metacognition. Several theories of career development suggest the role of
metacognition in career decision making. The research into this aspect of career
development is very limited. Individuals who display higher levels of metacognitive
activity have been seen to have a higher level of career decidedness (Kosine, Steger,
& Duncan, 2008). In a study on the relationship between metacognition and
vocational indecision on 100 students, metacognition was positively correlated with
vocational decidedness. Deduction component of metacognition was seen to predict
the level of decidedness (Symes & Stewart, 1999).
The need for career counselors to understand and acknowledge the role of
metacognition in career decision making has been highlighted by Kosine et al. (2008).
In their purpose centered approach to career counseling, they advocate focus on areas
of identity, self- efficacy, metacognition, culture, and service. Specifically, in the
metacognition domain, they advise reflection on their cognitive processes and
development of effective strategies for career decision making by students. Integration

of metacognition is expected to increase the benefits of career counseling (Lemeni,
2005). Byars-Winston and Fouad (2006) propose a culturally appropriate career
counseling model where they include metacognitive processes to be followed by
counselors to promote culturally sensitive counseling.
Though the role of metacognition in career development has been accepted,
very few studies have addressed this component of decision making related to career
development and career counseling. This proposes the need to explore the role of
metacognition in career decision making.
This section has outlined the research related to individual factors in career
development. Gender, age, personality, and metacognition and their role in career
decision making have been outlined. Other individual factors like locus of control
(Coertse & Schepers, 2004; Dhillon & Kaur, 2005), academic achievement (Kumar,
2014), self- esteem (Creed & Patton, 2003; Kounenou, 2014) have been studied in
relation to career development. Research in the Indian context and studies in the area
of metacognition is limited suggesting the need for research in this area. Further, the
interaction of personality and other contextual factors need to be addressed in research
as career decision making is a complex phenomenon influenced by multiple factors.
The next section discusses the role of contextual factors in career decision making.
Contextual Factors. Contextual factors play a major role in career
development. This has been highlighted by Hill, Ramirez, and Dumka (2003). As
recent theories place importance on the role of contextual factors in shaping the career
development process of an individual, research in now focusing on these factors. The
relationship between contextual factors like socio- economic status, school type,
school environment, and family has been discussed in this section.

Studies have looked at the influence of multiple factors influencing career
choices. Olamide & Olawaiye (2013) studied the factors that affect career choices of
adolescents in Ogun state, Nigeria. Using a quantitative research design 100 students
were recruited as participants. They explored the role of environment (family, friends,
teachers, counselors), opportunity and personality in career and academic choices of
students. They reported that environment, opportunity, and personality all influenced
career choices in varying degrees.
Sivakumar and Sridhar (2016) investigated differences in career maturity
based on gender, place of residence (rural/ urban), type of school, type of family and
religion. The sample consisted of 200 students studying in XI standard. Below
average career maturity was seen in the sample. Statistical analysis revealed no
significant differences in career maturity attitude based on gender, locality, type of
school, religion, and type of family. However significant differences were seen on
career maturity competence between students of government and private schools. The
researchers highlight the need to develop career counseling models to increase career
maturity in students.
Socio-economic status (SES). The socio- economic status of the family is
known to influence career development (Hughes, 2011). Socio- economic status can
influence career choices directly and indirectly. The relationship between family
socio-economic status and career development variables has been demonstrated in
past research. The financial condition of the family can facilitate or inhibit students
from making specific career choices. Socio- economic status influences the career
development needs of individuals especially in the complex Indian society (Arulmani
& Nag-Arulmani, 2004). It has also been said that career preparation and planning
vary between different socio-economic groups (Arulmani & Nag-Arulmani, 2006).

Bandura et al. (2001) in a prospective study examined a structural model of socio-
cognitive influences that influence parental aspirations related to careers. Self-
efficacy beliefs were seen to play a major role in giving direction to career pursuits,
and socio-economic status was seen to be indirectly linked to career trajectories by
influencing parent’s perceived efficacy and aspirations.
The influence of socio- economic status on career development in Indian
students was demonstrated by Arulmani, Van Laar, and Easton (2003). Arulmani and
Nag- Arulmani (2006) reported that parental approval for certain professions and
perceptions and importance placed on attributions of prestige was higher in parents
from upper- middle socio economic status in comparison to lower socio economic
status. Ferry (2006) in a qualitative study explored the factors influencing career
choices in adolescents in Pennsylvania using focus group interviews. Interdependence
of family, school and community culture, different social and economic contextual
factors, “ideal career,” barriers, and out-migration were themes that emerged in the
thematic analyses. The critical role of parents was emphasized in the study. Students
from affluent families were seen to have higher family support in career exploration
and wider career options. Parents were also perceived to be role models by many
participants.
The relationships between family socio-economic status, subjective social
status, perceived and enacted family support, self-efficacy beliefs and outcome
expectations was explored in a study with non-experimental survey design with a
sample size of 279 students. Path analysis revealed that family socio economic status,
and perceived and enacted family support had an indirect effect on career related
outcome variables while social status had a moderately direct effect on career related
self- efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations (Metheny, 2009). Sands (2011) states
that evidence shows increased likelihood of students from families that fall in the
lower socio-economic category to enter lower income jobs because of restricted
access to opportunities.
Socio- economic status is seen to have direct and indirect influences. It
influences opportunities, aspirations, and support by parents. However, the exact ways
in which socio- economic status can directly and indirectly influence career decisions
can be explored further.
School type. The type of school attended by the adolescent can have a
significant impact on the career development of the individual. A progressive school
environment can help students from disadvantaged families by giving them access to
learning facilities and opportunities. School environments can also shape attitudes of
individuals towards career options. Hence research has focused on the influence of the
type of school on career maturity and career choices.
Students from government schools were seen to have significantly lower
career awareness than students from private schools. Career awareness levels were
considerably lower in the students from state board syllabus in comparison to students
from schools that followed a CBSE syllabus (Arulmani & Nag-Arulmani, 2006).
Career maturity, locus of control, self- concept, and achievement motivation was
explored in a sample of 500 high school students in India. Higher career maturity
attitude and competence were seen in students from public schools in comparison to
private schools. Internal locus of control was significantly associated with career
maturity attitude and competence in students from private schools (Dhillon & Kaur,
2005). Similarly, Kaur (2012) studied differences in career maturity based on school
climate in 800 students studying in 11th standard. The Indian adaptation of the Career
Maturity Inventory and the School Climate Scale was used for data collection. The
results of the statistical analysis using analysis of variance showed no differences in
career maturity attitude in students from high, average, and low school climate.
However, self-appraisal, occupational information and problem solving were seen to
be significantly different. This shows that school climate plays a role in career
maturity.
Career maturity was studied in relation to gender, school type and vocational
guidance provisions (Sirohi, 2013). Student’s views about vocational guidance
services were also explored using focus group interviews. Quantitative and qualitative
analysis revealed that female subjects, students from private schools, and students
from schools with vocational guidance facilities were found to have higher career
maturity. In a survey conducted in Meghalaya, India which explored the career
preparation status, career belief patterns and academic achievement motivation of
high school students from rural and urban settings they found low levels of readiness
for optimal career decision making and negative career beliefs. Differences were seen
in gender patterns between rural and urban areas (Sangma & Arulmani, 2013).
Roy (2015) studied the association between type of school (government or
private) and career maturity in 120 secondary school students from four schools in
Eastern India. Using the Indian adaptation of the Career Maturity Inventory they
found significant differences in career maturity attitude between students from
government and private schools. However, both the groups were comparable on
career maturity competence. This is in contrast to studies where significant
differences have been found in all aspects of career maturity between private and
government school students.

Parental acceptance/rejection was studied in relation to career maturity in 400
high school students in India. In this study, Oberai (2016) used Mohsin Parent-Child
Inventory and Career Maturity Inventory. Gender differences were seen for all
participants from private schools with girls who were parentally accepted having
higher career maturity than boys. In government schools, gender differences were
seen only for participants in the parentally accepted category.
The review of these studies indicates that the type of school has a role to play
in career maturity and career choices of students. There is a need to explore what
aspects of schooling leads to this difference in career maturity. The links between
school type and socio- economic status has also not been explored.
Stream of study. At some point in their academic life students are required to
choose the broad stream of study they wish to pursue. In India, this choice is
determined by many factors like academic performance, family attitude. Hence some
studies have studied aspects of career development in relation to stream of study.
Dahiya (2014) explored the differences in career maturity based on gender and stream
of study in 120 students studying in secondary schools in Rohtak, India. Career
Maturity Inventory was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics revealed differences
between the groups. Female students and students from Science stream were found to
have higher career maturity. Students from Commerce stream were found to have
higher career maturity than those from the Arts stream but had lower career maturity
than students from the Science stream. Inferential statistical techniques were not used
for analysis. Therefore the results need to be interpreted keeping this limitation in
mind.
Family and career development. The role of the family in career development
has been proposed by many theorists (Fan, Cheung, Leong, & Cheung, 2014;
Hartung, Lewis, May, & Niles, 2002; Palos & Drobot, 2010). The family, especially
parents are known to implicitly and explicitly influence the decision making of an
adolescent. Arulmani (2012) in the cultural accommodation model also highlighted
the importance of family in the career decision-making process in collectivist
societies. There is a body of research which explores the role of the family in career
choice process of individuals.
Several family process variables like parenting style, parental attachment,
family support, and communication have been studied in relation to various aspects of
career decision making (Koumoundourou et al., 2011). Other variables like parental
aspirations, roles played by family members, family training and modeling
experiences have been studied. Research is now also focusing on the role of positive
family variables like family support (Metheny, 2009). Research has shown that
students rely on parents for guidance and input regarding career decisions (Joseph,
2012; Simmons, 2008) and students who reported a lack of involvement may be
undecided and made poor choices.
Jacobs and Eccles (as cited in Messersmith, Garrett, Davis-Kean, Malanchuk,
& Eccles, 2008) have proposed four types of parental influences on career aspirations
of children. They are, development of a socio- emotional climate, provision of
experiences, acting as role models and communication of parental expectations. The
role of parental influences on career development has been supported by the studies
outlined below.
With an objective to understand career development in African American
students, Hairston (2000) explored parental influences on preparation and selection of

vocational teaching as a career. Using a qualitative research design 12 students were
interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. High academic and career
expectations of parents, parental support in academic and occupational endeavors,
exposure to vocational subject matter by parents, and parental aid in the discovery of
aptitudes and interests related to vocational subject matter were the themes that
emerged. Parent’s career aspirations were seen to help their children in the selection
of vocational goals, the level of information about careers, occupational roles and
their access to occupations.
Creamer and Laughlin (2005) conducted a study using mixed methods design
to study the link between self-authorship and career decision making. Interviews were
used to collect data from 40 college women, and the data was analyzed qualitatively.
The study results showed that nearly all the participants considered one or both
parents to be influential in their career decision making followed by siblings. Their
influence was higher than that of formal sources of career guidance and teachers.
Family influences are proposed to play a significant role in career decisions of
adolescents in collectivist societies. With this in mind, Salami and Aremu (2007)
explored the role of parental attachment and separation with career indecision, career
information seeking behavior, prediction of satisfaction with career exploration
experience of adolescents in 242 senior secondary school students in Nigeria.
Statistical analysis using MANOVA showed no gender differences. Regression
analyses showed that the combination of parental attachment and psychological
separation did not predict career development variables. This is in contrast to the
findings of studies that show a significant association between attachment patterns
and career development variables.

Messersmith et al. (2008) conducted a longitudinal study to examine the effect
of external influences on choosing a career in information technology in emerging
adults. Socialization processes and specifically role of family, educational
experiences, and influence of gender on participants choosing or not choosing
information technology as a career was explored in a mixed methods study. They
examined individuals from the time they were in seventh grade till they were 25 years
old. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 participants and data was
analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. The analysis revealed the
substantial role of parents in determining career choice of participants. Parental
support, parents as role models and means of exposure to careers in the field of
information technology emerged as themes in the study. This study restricted its scope
to careers in one field. Further research can extend this investigation to understand
influences on other career avenues.
Simmons (2008) conducted a qualitative study with 17 participants and
investigated the role of parents in guidance regarding career choices. Perceptions of
students about their relationship with their parents and interactions about decision
making and problem solving were explored in a semi- structured interview. Using a
grounded theory approach he found that parental approval was desired by students
and was highest for careers that were clear and had lucrative financial prospects.
Participants expressed the presence of stereotypes attached to careers.
The mechanisms of parent- adolescent relationship which influence career
development of adolescents was studied in a sample of 359 German students (Dietrich
& Kracke, 2009). Perceived parental career related behaviors, career exploration, and
decision-making difficulties were assessed. Structural equation modeling was done.
Parental support was positively linked to career exploration. Parental interference and
lack of engagement were related to decision-making difficulties. The moderating role
of interference and lack of engagement on the relationship between support and career
exploration was also reported.
Mohd, Salleh, and Mustapha (2010) examined the role of contextual factors on
career development and planning of 1436 students pursuing technical education in
Malaysia. Student goals, role models, and career information were assessed through a
questionnaire. Father was identified as the most influential person in their career
planning by 77% while 14% reported influences by non-family members.
Stressing the need to explore the role of family in the career decision making
of an adolescent, Palos and Drobot (2010) studied parental support for career choice
and family environment variables like parental attachment and parents’ level of
training. The results of the research conducted on 60 students studying in 12th grade
showed that families were seen to provide more psychosocial support in the form of
encouragement and discussion in comparison to concrete action regarding career
choice.
Khamadi, Bowen, and Oladipo (2011) using a mixed methods design studied
factors influencing career choices of students in Kenya. Using surveys, focus group
discussions and in-depth interviews they collected data from 295 students. 42% of the
participants identified family as the most significant influence followed by teachers,
counselors, and peers. Income and grades were also reported as significant influences
by the participants. Results also revealed career decision-making difficulties in the
form of lack of career information and guidance, parental force and pressure, and
economic slowdown. This study brings out the practical challenges faced by students
and also the importance of taking external barriers into consideration when
understanding career development.
Sands (2011) conducted a qualitative study on three generations of people
exploring factors that influenced career development. Using a case study approach
data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic
analysis. The results revealed family to be the most significant influence among other
factors. The family influences were categorized as follows, family as a role model,
family pressure, family as a source of increasing confidence and as motivation, and
directly steering people to a career.
Investigating the role of family involvement in the career decision-making
process of university students in the United States of America, Joseph (2012) used a
mixed methods research design to study the nature of parental involvement in
activities, academic achievement, choice of a major and career choice. He found no
significant relationships between caregiver’s involvement in career decisions and
level of career decidedness. However, he found a significant correlation between
caregiver’s involvement and future influences. Qualitative analysis of the data
revealed that students welcome parental involvement and support, while they reported
of a decrease in parental involvement from high school to college, thus putting the
onus of making career decisions on the student.
Njeri (2013) in a research project explored factors influencing career choices
of 293 undergraduate students sponsored by Compassion International in Kenya. Two
staff members were also included as participants. They aimed to study the role of
family, peers, role models and gender. They used surveys and an interview schedule
for data collection. The influence of role models was seen to be significant followed
by gender and peers. However, contradictory to most research, family factors were
seen to be relatively less significant in this sample. Only 25% of the sample reported
that parental advice was seen to influence career choice. The presence of gender and
occupational stereotypes was seen where male-dominated occupations were
considered superior to female dominated occupations. The need to extend career
guidance services and the need to work through gender and occupational stereotypes
was observed in this study.
Wan (2013) investigated the role of parental influences, personality, and
gender in career-related self- concept development. Social cognitive career theory
framework (SCCT) was used. The study sample included 1382 adolescents in
secondary school in Hong Kong and 114 parent-child dyads. Structural equation
modeling revealed the applicability of SCCT in this sample. Perceived parental
influences were associated directly with career decision-making self-efficacy and
indirectly with aspirations and expectations.
Fan et al. (2014) in a cross-cultural study explored the role of perceived family
intrusion and the mediating role of personality dimension of family orientation on
career decision-making difficulties and career readiness in Hong Kong and America.
Family intrusiveness was seen to predict career readiness, and family orientation was
found to play a mediating role influencing the effect of family intrusiveness on career
decision-making difficulties. But this mediation was not seen in the sample from
America. However, the influence of family intrusiveness was also seen in the western
context. This study brings out the relevance of developing culturally sensitive theories
for career development as also suggested by Arulmani et al. (2014).
The effects of parental influence on career choice of adolescents in Nigeria
was studied by Olaosebikan and Olusakin (2014). Data was collected from 300
students through a questionnaire. They studied the effect of parental influence, type of
school/ college, parental attitude and perceptions of parental occupational satisfaction.
Analysis revealed the presence of influence of parents on career choice by 46% of the
respondents. However, this influence was not significant. Parental attitude to work
was seen to influence career choice. Parental influence did not vary significantly
between students from private and government colleges.
Liu, McMahon, and Watson (2015) in a qualitative study explored the
influence Chinese parents had on career development of children in grade five using
semi- structured interviews. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis, they
reported that parents had a direct and indirect influence on imparting career
information to their children, and had high educational and career expectations. They
also highlighted the role of gender stereotypes and prominent role of mother as a
career role model. The mixed influence of Western and Confucian ideologies has been
discussed.
In a study on 210 undergraduate students in Kenya the influence of family
factors, peers, gender, job opportunities, personal interest and role models on career
choices was studied (Koech et al., 2016). A questionnaire was used to collect data
about these variables. The majority of the students’ preferred career choice was
medicine or engineering. Parental advice, peers and role models were seen to
influence career selection of the participants. The highest influence was reported by
career benefits like financial stability, opportunities for growth job satisfaction by the
participants. This brings out the practical aspects of career decision making. However,
not many studies have focused on the role of career related factors and their influence
on career decision making.

This section has given an overview of the influence of family on various
aspects of career development. Many studies have used a qualitative design to bring
out the aspects of family relevant to career development. Parents are seen to be the
most influential family factor in relation to career decision making. The following
section outlines the research findings related to parenting style, parental support, and
career development.
Parenting style. Parenting styles are the combination of parental attitudes,
practices and nonverbal expressions that characterize the nature of parent-child
interactions across diverse situations (Glasgow, Dombusch, Troyer, Steinberg, &
Ritter, 1997). Schulenberg, Vondracek, & Crouter (as cited in Hughes, 2011) propose
that parenting style influences the career development process. According to Super,
Crites, Hummel, Overstreet, & Warnath (as cited in Hughes 2011) parental
warmth/hostility is said to play a role in various aspects of career development.
Similarly, three kinds of parental influences on career development were proposed by
Middleton and Loughead (as cited in Njeri, 2013). They are positively involved
parents, negatively involved parents, and non- involved parents. Negatively involved
parents were seen to have a detrimental effect on their children’s career decision-
making process. The following section outlines the research done in the area of
parenting style and its relationship to career decision making.
The impact of parenting style varies from culture to culture, and culture is also
known to mediate the role of parenting style in career development. Authoritative
parenting style is seen to have a positive impact on several variables in Caucasian
students. However, collectivist cultures stress the importance of parental authority and
interdependence. In the non- Western cultures authoritarian parenting style is reported
to be the most widely used parenting style (Wu, 2009). Hence, Wu (2009) aimed to
study the relationship between parenting style and acculturation on career decision
making self- efficacy and career maturity of Asian American college students. Using
simultaneous regression technique in her study the researcher found that permissive
parenting style was associated with lower levels of career maturity while authoritarian
parenting was found to have a positive influence on self- appraisal and occupational
information domains of career decision-making self-efficacy.
Cenkseven-Onder, Kirdok, and Isik, (2010) studied the relationship between
parenting style and parental attachment to career indecision in 382 Turkish high
school students aged 14-18 years. Career decidedness was seen to be higher in
students whose parents adopted an authoritative or authoritarian style and in students
with a medium degree of attachment.
Koumoundourou et al. (2011) examined the mediating role of core self-
evaluations on the relationship between parenting styles and adolescents’ career
decision-making difficulties. The sample consisted of 289 Greek students. With
hierarchical regression, they found that in male students permissive and authoritarian
parenting styles significantly predicted career decision-making difficulties, while for
female students only authoritarian parenting increased career decision-making
difficulties. For female students core self- evaluations mediated the role of family and
parenting characteristics.
Parental modeling and its impact on vocational maturity were studied by
Sharma and Gaur (2012). Parental modeling and vocational maturity were assessed in
60 students in XI standard. Analysis revealed no significant correlation between
parental modeling and vocational maturity.
Chen and Liew (2015) explored the factors influencing career decision-making
difficulties of graduating students in Malaysia. They hypothesized that personality
(big five traits) and perceived parenting style (authoritative, authoritarian and
permissive styles) influenced career decision-making difficulties in the sample
(n=100). Parental authority was found to influence career decision-making difficulties
significantly. A negative relationship was seen between career decision-making
difficulties and effective personality which is a combination of traits of extraversion,
agreeableness, conscientiousness and intellect.
Studies are indecisive about the positive influence of authoritative parenting
style and the detrimental effect of authoritarian parenting styles on career decision
making. Though parenting style is seen to be associated with career development,
many studies have not focused on this aspect and its influence. Parenting needs to be
understood in the context of the individual and hence the need for more context-
specific research is emerging in the review of literature.
Parental support. Parental support has been linked to higher career
expectations, aspirations, and career decidedness while perceived lack of support
restricts access to opportunities (Metheny, 2009).
The relationship between identity formation status and students perception of
parental acceptance and encouragement was investigated by Guerra and Braungart-
Rieker (1999) in a sample of 169 undergraduate students with a mean age of 19 years.
Career Decision Scale, Mother-Father-Peer Scale and Extended Objective Measure of
Ego Identity Status Scale was administered to collect data. Statistical analysis using
multiple regression analysis revealed that parental variables like maternal
encouragement of independence were negatively linked to career indecision. Ego
identity status was also seen to predict career indecision. The results reveal the
importance of exploring family dynamics in the process of career counseling.
The role of gender, career gender typing, and perceptions of parental support
in relation to career decision self-efficacy and career interests was examined in 139
adolescents from a multi-ethnic sample (Turner & Lapan, 2002). Multiple regression
analyses revealed that career self-efficacy and career planning directly predicted
adolescents’ career interests for Holland’s themes. Perceived parental support was
seen to predict career self-efficacy.
Hill et al. (2003) explored the career aspirations, perceived barriers and family
support of 31 early adolescents in a qualitative study. The sample consisted of
participants from African American, Euro- American, Mexican American and
Mexican immigrants from low-income families. Narrative analysis revealed gender
differences in career goals and ethnic differences in perceived barriers and support
from family. The importance of family support was brought out in this study. Greater
maturity in relation to career decisions was seen in female participants. Perceived
barriers were also seen to influence career aspirations negatively.
Keller (2004) conducted a study on 300 middle school students in rural and
urban areas to explore the interaction between family and career factors. Using the
Career Maturity Inventory, Middle School Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy
Scale and a Parent Career Behaviour Checklist they found that perceived parent
behaviors were related to career maturity and career decision-making self-efficacy.
Psychosocial support behaviours were seen to be more important than career related
action behaviours. Perceived parental support was also seen to aid career certainty in a
study on 151 African American students in the United States of America. The role of
cultural factors was also considered in the study (Constantine, Wallace, & Kindaichi,
2005).
In the Indian context, parents have a significant role in career choice of
adolescents (Janetius et al., 2011). Based on survey data obtained from 524 secondary
school students and 148 parents it was reported that parents inspired 68% of students
in their career choice process.
The relationship between adolescents’ and parents’ perceptions of parental
support with career choices and career self-efficacy was explored in a study
conducted on 94 Italian adolescents and their parents by Ginevra, Nota, and Ferrari
(2015). Adolescents’ perceptions of parental support were seen to mediate the
influence of the perceptions of both parents on adolescent career choices. This study
highlights the positive influence of parental support on career development.
Using the social cognitive theory framework Sawitri, Creed, and Zimmer-
Gembeck (2014) explored the relationship between parental career expectations,
adolescent-parent career congruence with adolescent career aspirations and career
actions of planning and exploration in Indonesia which is a collectivist society.
Participants were 351 grade ten students. Through structural modeling, they found a
direct and indirect association between parental and child career aspirations through
self- efficacy and outcome expectations.
This section brought out the role of parenting style and parental support in
career decision making of adolescents. It also highlights the importance of parents in
this process. However in-depth studies in the Indian context are limited to few.
Social influences. Several aspects related to societal factors like gender
stereotyping, media, role models, peers, teachers, counselors, and institutions can
have a positive or negative impact on career choices. Perceptions of young

adolescents are also influenced more by the social factors (Adya & Kaiser, 2005).
Thus several contextual factors are seen to play a role in career development.
Summary of the Review of Literature
The review of literature shows that career decision making has been studied
from various perspectives. Aspects of career decision making like career choice,
career maturity career decidedness, career indecision, career decision making- self-
efficacy, and career aspirations have been researched. Researchers have attempted to
study various personal, contextual and career-related variables that may have an
influence on career decision making and career maturity.
Broadly individual and external factors are seen to play a role in career
decision making of adolescents. Personality, personal interest, family influences,
peers influences, gender, socio- economic background, and school type are some of
the factors that are found to influence career decisions. Several aspects of family like
parental attachment patterns, parenting style, parental attitudes, parental support,
parental education, and occupation are seen to have an impact on career choices.
However, the exact way in which these factors play a role is not clearly known.
Several studies have focused on investigating multiple influences on career
choices of individuals. However, no specific combination of factors has consistently
been seen to have utmost influence. Therefore there is a need to study the combined
influence of personal and environmental factors, and this has also been stressed by
researchers (Palos & Drobot, 2010).
The review of literature necessitates the need for theoretical convergence. The
need for integration of conceptually related constructs and exploration of relationships
between diverse concepts has been advocated (Paivandy, 2008). Further, most of the
studies in this area are quantitative in nature. Studies especially conducted in the
Indian context are limited to quantitative analysis of data. Career decision-making is a
complex process, and an in-depth understanding of various factors can be achieved by
adopting a qualitative approach. This signals the need for more research using
qualitative methodology or mixed methods designs to enhance our understanding of
the interplay of several influences in this regard. Thus the review brings out the
complex nature of career decision making necessitating further research as a career
choice is an individual’s stepping stone to determining his career trajectory and
thereby largely his life.
In the light of these gaps in research on the career development process, the
current study seeks to explore potential links between some of the individual and
contextual factors that contribute to career decision making of adolescents in the
Indian context. The rationale for the current study is outlined in the next section.
Rationale for the Study
Career choice is one of the most important decisions an individual makes in
his life, and this process begins in adolescence or even earlier, much before a person
enters the actual world of work. Career decision making is hence an important
developmental task in adolescence. Selection of subjects is a critical component of
career planning. Subject combinations and career choices made at this stage will
determine their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their career in their future. Poor
uninformed choices and poor career maturity at this juncture will have an enormous
impact on various aspects of the person’s future. In the Indian education system
students are required to make goals regarding qualifications and career path choices at
the end of high school i.e. tenth grade and narrow down their choice by the twelfth
standard. They are also expected to be aware of career options at this stage. This is a
period of transition and stress for most students as they are supposed to choose and
make tentative decisions regarding their future career. This sets the tone for their
future path and decisions once made cannot be changed easily. To ensure effective
decision making it is important to understand the interplay of factors that influence
career choices that adolescents make. Therefore this study aims to contribute to
existing knowledge about career development in adolescence in the urban Indian
context.
Every important decision in an individual’s life is influenced and guided by
internal and external factors. However, our socio-cultural milieu is currently in a state
of flux. Globalization has resulted in a transition from the traditional mode of
functioning. With changes in the structure of society and patterns of family
relationships, understanding the role and influence of both individual and extrinsic
factors in the career path of a person becomes relevant.
Recent theories of career development are placing importance on the
interaction of individual and environmental factors in the career decision-making
process. Individual factors like personality traits, aptitude, and interest have been
researched. Similarly, demographic factors like race, socio- economic status, gender,
parental occupation are found to play a role in the career trajectory of an individual.
The family is increasingly seen to play a major role in this aspect of a person's life.
However, most proposed theoretical models and career counseling
interventions are based on Western cultural settings. According to Leong (2002),
Asian researchers and career counselors tend to borrow theoretical and practical
western models of science in the field of career guidance due to the availability bias,
as information is readily available. Further, he explains that a training bias exists

where the training in western models and in western institutions received by Asian
counselors increases the tendency to import these western models into the Asian
context. This may lead to ineffective career-related decisions and hence reduced
productivity in later work years. This necessitates that theoretical models be
developed indigenously to understand the factors influencing career decision making
in a specific context. This can help design career counseling interventions.
Considering this current scenario, there appears to be a dearth of studies in the
Indian context. The relationship between personality and several aspects of career
development has been highlighted in literature. The big five traits taxonomy of
personality is proposed to be valid cross-culturally. Similarly, good decision-making
skills are essential for making effective career decisions. Metacognition is one aspect
of decision making though suggested in career and decision making theories has not
been studied extensively in relation to career development. The role of family and
demographic variables in career development is being studied extensively. Parental
variables like parenting style are known to facilitate or be detrimental for effective
career decision making. This has a special relevance to the Indian context as family
involvement is known to be very high in all aspects of an individual’s life. An
investigation into the relationship of these factors with career maturity and decision
making of an adolescent can facilitate a better understanding of career decision
making in Indian adolescents in Pre-University.
Few empirical studies have been found that examined the predictive
relationship between the combined effect of predictor variables personality, parenting
styles, metacognition, gender and socio-economic status on career maturity. Hence the
aim of the current study is to examine the relationship of personality, perceived
parenting style, and metacognition with career maturity of an adolescent. This study
will also explore specific demographic characteristics of gender, socioeconomic
status, type of college and stream of study and how they relate to career maturity. An
in- depth exploration into the role of various other factors may help us understand the
inter-play of each of these factors in influencing career choices. Therefore this study
further aims to explore the role of other personal and family factors influencing career
decision making in adolescents.
It is important to understand various aspects and the process of career choices
of adolescents and the factors influencing their decisions in this regard. The purpose
of this study was also to add to existing literature the role of personal and family
factors in career decision making in adolescents in an urban Indian setting.
Understanding of these aspects can aid in the early identification of students who have
difficulties in career-related decision making and throw light on some of the reasons
that may be contributing to the same. Arulmani and Nag-Arulmani (2004) have
stressed the need for the development of career counseling interventions based on
theoretical models that have been validated for the Indian context. The results of the
study can be used for the development of theoretical models and an effective career
counseling program for this cultural group. It can also be used to educate teachers,
counselors, parents, and professionals in this regard.

Method
The objectives of the present study, the research design and methods used are
described in this chapter.
Objectives
The study was conducted in two phases and had the following objectives.
Phase 1.
To explore the relationship between personality traits, perceived parenting style and
metacognition with career maturity.
To explore the role of gender, socioeconomic status, type of college, stream of study
and decision status with career maturity.
Phase 2.
To explore personal and contextual factors that influence the career choices
and decisions of adolescents studying in II PUC in Bangalore city.
Research Design
The purpose of the study guided the choice of the research design and methods
used in the study. This study explored the various factors that have an impact on the
career maturity and career decision-making process of adolescents. A mixed method
design was used with a quantitative and a qualitative phase.
Choice of research methods. The use of mixed methods in research in
Psychology can be traced to the 1950’s following which methods of triangulation
emerged. Mixed method research is defined by Creswell, Plano, Clark, Gutmann, and
Hanson (as cited in Hanson, Creswell, Clark, Petska, & Creswell, 2005) as “the
collection or analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study in
which the data are collected concurrently or sequentially and involve the integration
of the data at one or more stages in the process of research.” Mixed methods research
is based on pragmatic knowledge claims which are not based on any one system of
philosophy. Here the research problem is the most important thing that guides the
choice of methods used in the study. Use of multiple methods, worldviews and
assumptions are advocated if it aids in achieving the aim of the research (Creswell,
2003). Therefore mixed methods research is generally adopted when multiple
research questions are present, and the researcher is of the opinion that the use of
multiple methods will help understand the phenomenon being studied in a better
manner than if any single method is to be used (McLaughlin, McLaughlin, & Muffo,
2001).
In the present study, the mixed methods design was used, as the data obtained
from the qualitative and quantitative methods were expected to be complementary and
strengthen the findings of the study. It was also expected to give a better
understanding of the phenomena under study. A convergent parallel design is one
where two independent strands of data are collected concurrently, analyzed
independently, and results are mixed during interpretation. Convergence, divergence,
contradictions and relationships between the two sources of data can be analyzed
(Bian, n.d.). In the present study parallel research questions were formed for the
quantitative phase and qualitative phase and data was collected simultaneously. The
analysis was done separately for both phases, and the results are discussed.
Quantitative research is based on the philosophy of post-positivism which
emphasizes on the study of cause-effect relationships by observation and
measurement. This phase was planned to understand the relationship of specific
factors with career maturity. Therefore a correlational approach was adopted. The
approach also allowed us to find out the strength of the statistical relationships
between these variables.
Qualitative research, on the other hand, is based on the constructivist
perspective to find meaning. This phase was designed to provide a comprehensive
understanding of the individual and external factors that influenced the career
decision-making of participants. The purpose was to gather in-depth information from
information rich individuals.
The study was exploratory in nature with the aim of understanding the
phenomenon of career development. The questions were framed keeping in mind the
process of career decision making and career preparation beginning with their choice
of course and stream of study and their future career plans on completion of their
education. The steps in the research data collection and analysis have been shown in
Figure 3.
PHASE PROCEDURE
Quantitative data collection Self- report measures
Qualitative data collection Semi- structured interviews
Normality testing
Quantitative data analysis
Descriptive and inferential statistics
Template analysis: Codes and themes

Qualitative data analysis Data validation
Within and cross case analysis
Integration of quantitative Interpretation and explanation of quantitative

and qualitative results and qualitative results
Figure 3. Graphical representation of research design.

Operational definitions. The terms used in the study have been defined in the
following section.
Adolescent. The World Health Organization defines adolescence as “the
period in human growth and development that occurs after childhood and before
adulthood, from ages 10 to 19” (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.-a). An
adolescent is an individual who is in this developmental stage. In the present study,
the term refers to students studying in II Pre-University in the Science, Arts, and
Commerce streams in government and private colleges in Bangalore, India.
Career maturity. According to Super (as cited in Wu, 2009, p. 5) career
maturity is “the degree to which an individual exhibits career behaviors and choices
that are appropriate for his or her age”.

Career decision making. Refers to the process of making career and academic
choices by adolescents (Ghuangpeng, 2011).
Personality traits. The big five model by Costa and McCrae (1992) describes
personality as a combination of the traits of agreeableness, extraversion,
conscientiousness, openness, and neuroticism. The descriptions of the traits are as
follows:
Openness to experience. It refers to the qualities of imagination, curiosity,
aesthetic responsiveness, and intellectual independence (Haider et al., 2002).
Conscientiousness. According to Costa & McCrae (as cited in Smith, 2011) it
means orderly and rule following, but also includes aspects such as competence,
discipline, and achievement orientation.
Extraversion. It is defined by Costa and McCrae (as cited in Smith, 2011) as
primarily a tendency towards being outwardly expressive. It contains “facets related
to gregariousness (i.e., friendliness, cheerfulness, sociability), but also has facets
related to dominance and energy (i.e., activity level, excitement seeking,
assertiveness)”.
Agreeableness. According to Costa and McCrae (as cited in Smith, 2011) it
represents cooperative and harmonious behavior with others, while also encompassing
features such as altruism, trust, and tender-mindedness.
Neuroticism. According to Costa & McCrae (1995) it refers to the extent to
which negative affects like sadness, anger, embarrassment and guilt are typically
experienced by an individual.
Parenting style. Three styles of parenting were outlined by Baumrind in 1971
(as cited in Buri, 1991, p. 111).

Permissive parenting. Where parents are relatively less controlling and make
few demands on their children (Buri, 1991).
Authoritarian parenting. Where parents are highly directive and insist on
obedience from children (Buri, 1991).
Authoritative parenting. Where parents show disciplinary clarity moderated by
flexibility and reason (Buri, 1991).
In the current study perceived parenting style refers to the perception of the
adolescent regarding the parenting style (permissive, authoritative and authoritarian)
adopted by their parents.
Metacognition. Metacognition is considered as the level of metacognitive
awareness in the individual. The terms metacognition and metacognitive awareness
have been used interchangeably in this research. Metacognitive knowledge and
metacognitive regulation are considered as two aspects of metacognitive awareness.
Decision status. It refers to the decision status of the individual; i.e. if the
individual has decided on his career choice or is still undecided about his future career
choice.
Socio- economic status. In the present study socio-economic status was
calculated using education, occupation and family income per month based on the
criteria proposed in a revision of the Kuppuswamy Socio- economic Status Scale by
Vijaya and Ravikiran (2013). Participants have been classified into upper, upper-
middle, lower- middle and lower socio-economic status groups.

Quantitative Phase
Variables. The criterion variables and predictor variables in the study were as
follows.
Criterion variables. The criterion variable was career maturity attitude and
competence domains (self-appraisal, occupational information, goal selection,
planning, and problem solving).
Predictor variables. The predictor variables were perceived parenting style
(authoritarian, authoritative, permissive), personality traits (neuroticism, openness,
conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness), metacognition, gender, type of
college (government, private), socio-economic status (upper, upper- middle, lower-
middle, lower) and stream of study (arts, science, commerce).
Research questions and hypothesis. Based on the objectives and review of
literature the following research questions and hypotheses were proposed.
Research Q1: What relationship exists, if any, between big five personality traits
(neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion) and the
attitude and five competence scales (self-appraisal, occupational information, goal
Selection, planning, problem solving) of career maturity?
Hypotheses 1:
1. Personality traits will have a significant relationship with career maturity attitude and
competence.
a. Agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness and extraversion will have a positive
relationship with career maturity attitude and competence.
b. Neuroticism will have a negative relationship with career maturity attitude and
competence.
Research Q2: What relationship exists, if any, between metacognitive awareness and
the attitude and five competence scales (self-appraisal, occupational information, goal
selection, planning, problem solving) of career maturity?
Hypotheses 2:
2. The level of metacognitive awareness will be positively related to career maturity
attitude and competence (self-appraisal, occupational information, goal selection,
planning, problem solving).
Research Q3: What relationship exists, if any, between perceived parenting styles
(authoritarian, authoritative, permissive) and the attitude and five competence scales
(self-appraisal, occupational information, goal selection, planning, problem solving)
of career maturity?
Hypotheses 3:
3. Perceived parenting style will not have a significant relationship with career maturity
attitude and competence.
a. Permissive parenting style will not have a significant relationship with career maturity
attitude and competence.
b. Authoritarian parenting style will not have a significant relationship with career
maturity attitude and competence.
c. Authoritative parenting style will not have a significant relationship with career
maturity.
d. There will be a significant difference in career maturity attitude and competence in
children whose parents have an authoritarian, authoritative and permissive parenting
style.
Research Q4: Are there any gender differences in attitude and competence scales
of career maturity?
Hypotheses 4:
4. There will be no gender differences in career maturity attitude and competence.
a. There will be no significant differences in career maturity attitude based on gender.
b. There will be no significant difference in career maturity competence based on
gender.
Research Q5: Are there any differences in scores on attitude and competence scales
of career maturity in students who belong to upper, upper middle, lower middle, and
lower socio-economic status groups?
Hypotheses 5:
5. There will be no significant differences in career maturity between students who
belong to upper, upper- middle, lower- middle, and lower socio economic status
groups.
a. There will be no significant differences in career maturity attitude between students
who belong to upper, upper- middle, lower- middle, and lower socio economic status
groups.
b. There will be no significant differences in career maturity competence between
students who belong to upper, upper- middle, lower- middle, and lower socio
economic status groups.
of career maturity in students studying in government and private colleges?
Hypotheses 6:
6. There will be no significant differences in and career maturity attitude and
competence between students studying in government and private colleges.
studying in government and private colleges.
students studying in government and private colleges.
of career maturity in students studying in Arts, Science and Commerce streams?
Hypotheses 7
7. There will be no significant differences in career maturity attitude and competence
between students in studying in different streams.
studying in Arts, Science and Commerce streams.
students studying in Arts, Science and Commerce streams.
of career maturity in students who are decided and undecided about their career plans?
8. There will be no significant differences between students who are decided and
undecided about their career plans.
who are decided and undecided about their future career.
students who are decided and undecided about their future career.
Research Q9: Which factors uniquely predict the level of career maturity when
personality traits, perceived parenting style, and metacognitive awareness are taken
together with gender, type of college, decision status, socio- economic status, and
stream of study?
Sample. The details of the sample are outlined in the following section.
Research population. The research population for the present study included
the students studying in the II Year Pre-University under the Department of Pre-
University Education in Bangalore city. Students from government and private
colleges were included to ensure representation from both these categories of colleges
as students studying in these colleges tend to belong to varied socio-economic
backgrounds.
Research Sample. Purposive sampling method was used for selection of study
participants from the colleges. Purposive sampling has been defined as “A form of
non-probability sampling in which decisions concerning the individuals to be included
in the sample are taken by the researcher, based upon a variety of criteria which may
include specialist knowledge of the research issue, or capacity and willingness to
participate in the research” (Oliver, 2006). In the present study typical case sampling
method of purposive sampling was adopted keeping the study objectives in mind.
Research sample for the quantitative phase. A list of government and private
colleges offering Pre- University course in Bangalore city, India was secured.
Students from colleges that gave permission to the researcher to carry out the study
were recruited for the study. Within the college, the students to be included in the
study from the Arts, Science and Commerce stream were randomly selected by the
Principal or staff member nominated by the Principal. 600 students from eight private
and seven government colleges studying in the Arts, Commerce, and Science streams
participated in the study.
The following criteria were implemented for the purpose of selection of the
study participants:
Inclusion criteria.
1. II Year Pre-university students in Science, Arts, and Commerce stream
2. Fluency in English or Kannada language
Exclusion criteria.
1. Any major psychiatric illness
2. Appearing for II year pre-university exams as a repeater
3. Studying under CBSE/ ICSE scheme in 11th and 12th standard
4. Reading disability
Table 1
Sample Description across Gender, Stream of Study and Type of College
Arts Science Commerce Total
Male Female Male Female Male Female
N % N % N % N % N % N % N %
Government 41 48 43 47 38 43 46 48 39 44 47 48 254 46
Private 45 52 49 53 50 57 50 52 50 56 50 52 294 54
Total 86 100 92 100 88 100 96 100 89 100 97 100 548 100
As seen in Table 1, the sample consisted of both government and private
college students who comprised 46% and 54% each in the sample. In the sample 178
(32%) students were from the Arts stream, 184 (34%) students were from the Science
stream, and 186 (34%) students were from the Commerce stream. 48% of the
participants were male and 52% participants were female in the sample.
Measures used in the study. The following measures were used in the study.
Socio-demographic data sheet. A questionnaire designed by the researcher
was used to collect demographic details of the student and his/her family. The
students’ date of birth, contact information, nature of family, family income, the
number of siblings, previous experience of career counseling, satisfaction with the
current course and status of decision regarding further study/career options were
collected. The format of the socio-demographic data sheet has been given in
Appendix C.
Career Maturity Inventory (CMI). It was developed by Crites in 1978 and

adapted for Indian conditions by Dr. Nirmala Gupta in 1989. The inventory has two
scales: Attitude scale and competence scale. The attitude scale explores the conative
aspects of career development while the competency scales look into the cognitive
facets of career development (Crites, 1972- 73). Five attitudinal variables which are
assessed are decisiveness in career decision making (degree to which a person is
definite about making a career choice), involvement in career decision making (extent
to which an individual is actively participating in the process of making a choice),
independence in career decision making (degree to which an individual relied on
others to make a career choice), orientation in career decision making (orientation
towards task or pleasure in an individual’s attitude towards work) and compromise in
career decision making (degree to which an individual is willing to compromise
between needs and reality) (Wu, 2009). The attitude scale has 50 questions, and the
participant has to choose between options yes and no for each question. One total
score is obtained for this scale of the Career Maturity Inventory. A maximum score of
50 and a minimum score of 0 can be obtained on the scale. Higher scores indicate a
more mature developed attitude towards career decision making.
The five parts of the competence scale are self- appraisal (knowing oneself),
occupational information (knowing about jobs), goal selection (choosing a job),
planning (looking ahead), and problem-solving (knowing what to do). There are 70
items in the competence scale with five answer options for each question with only
one correct answer. The participant has to indicate the option of his choice on the
answer sheet. The participant can score 0 or 1 for each question. Five total scores are
obtained for the five subscales of the competence scale.
The construct and content validity of the Career Maturity Inventory has been
established. The reliability coefficients for the adapted version of the Career Maturity
Inventory, attitude scale range from 0.70 to 0.92 and for the competence scales from
0.54 to 0.88 (Hasan, 2006).
Neo Five Factor Inventory (Neo FFI). Given by Costa & Mc Crae, in 1992,
the Neo FFI is a shorter version of Neo Personality Inventory – Revised. It was
designed to measure the big five traits of personality. It has 12 items on each of the
subscales neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness and agreeableness. It
is a self-report measure on a five-point likert scale where 1= strongly disagree and 5=
strongly agree. The scores on the items for each scale are summed up to form the total
score for the specific sub-scale. The authors have reported internal consistency values
of 0.86 (neuroticism), 0.77 (extraversion), 0.73 (openness), 0.68 (agreeableness),
0.81(conscientiousness) respectively (as cited in Hartman, 2006).
The validity of the five-factor model in the Indian context has been established
by Dubey, Arora, Gupta, and Kumar (2010), and Lodhi, Deo, and Behelkar (2002).
The Neo Personality Inventory was studied on a student sample of 205 technology
students in India with the aim of establishing external validity for this scale in this
population. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation revealed the
replicability of the five factor model for scales neuroticism, agreeableness, and
conscientiousness showing the validity of the Neo PI-R in this population (Singh,
2009).
Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI). (Schraw & Dennison, 1994). It is
a 52 item inventory to measure metacognitive awareness. Knowledge of cognition
(metacognitive knowledge) and regulation of cognition (metacognitive regulation) are
the two categories that are measured. The scale items have response options true or
false. The lowest score possible is 0, and the highest score is 52. Higher scores
indicate higher metacognitive activity and vice versa.

The scale gives the following subscales under the knowledge of cognition
factor: Declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and conditional knowledge.
The subscales under the regulation of cognition factor are planning, information
management strategies, comprehension monitoring, debugging strategies and
evaluation.
The validity and reliability of this scale have been widely established in
literature. Factors were found to be reliable (Cronbach alpha = 0.90) (Schraw &
Dennison, 1994). Factor loadings of the items range from 0.32 to 0.70. Internal
consistency reliability coefficient was found to be 0.95 (Memnun, 2013). This scale
has also been used on Indian population (Jayapraba & Kanmani, 2013).
Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ). It is a 30 item questionnaire
developed by Buri in 1991 to assess parenting style as perceived by the child. It
assesses three types of parenting styles: Authoritative, authoritarian and permissive.
Students are required to read statements about his/her perceived relationship with
parents when they were growing up. It is a five-point Likert scale with ten items for
each scale with options ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). A
higher score indicates a greater degree of that parenting style. The perceived parenting
style with the highest score is taken as the dominant parenting style in this study.
The author has reported a test- retest reliability ranging from 0.77 to 0.92 for
all three parenting styles for both parents. Datu (2012) has reported a high Cronbach
Alpha of 0.82 in Filipino population. Natarajan (2010) in a cross- cultural study in
USA and India reported Cronbach Alpha values of for the three parenting styles for
mothers as ranging from 0.47 to 0.57 and for fathers from 0.53 to 0.67. In a study by
Shalini and Acharya (2013) conducted on adolescents in Karnataka state, India on 973
students a Cronbach Alpha of 0.80 and 0.78 for father and mother were obtained for
the Kannada translation of the PAQ. This shows that the Parental Authority
Questionnaire is a reliable instrument for use with adolescents in Karnataka.
This scale has been found to be valid and reliable on urban, middle-class
Indian population as found in a study by Raval, Ward, Raval, and Trivedi (2012). The
study was conducted on 195 College students in Northwestern India, and factor
analysis revealed acceptable Cronbach alpha values ranging from poor to acceptable.
Rationale and procedure of translation of questionnaires. The medium of
instruction in government schools in Bangalore is Kannada, and most students
studying in government colleges were found to be more proficient in Kannada than in
English. Hence the questionnaires used in the study were translated from English to
Kannada. The World Health Organization has prescribed certain guidelines for the
translation of questionnaires from English to regional languages. They focus on the
need for conceptual rather than literal translation, simplicity, clarity and sensitivity to
the culture being studied. The translation of scales for this study was broadly based on
the guidelines outlined by the World Health Organization (World Health Organization
[WHO], n.d.- b).
The translated scales were then back translated into English by another
independent translator well versed with both the languages. The focus was on
retaining the original meaning and content. Both the Kannada and English versions
were compared with each other, and necessary modifications were made to the
Kannada version.
Collection of data. Data was collected in two phases after the pilot study.
Pilot study. A pilot study was conducted with 30 students belonging to a
private college. The procedure for the quantitative phase was followed. After
obtaining consent, the questionnaires were administered to the participants.
Some of the observations and modifications made after the pilot study for the
main study were as follows.
The students needed the instructions to be given in detail, and it was necessary to
make sure that the instructions for each scale were understood correctly by the
participants.
Few participants clarified their doubts regarding certain questions during the
administration.
Distractibility level of the students was seen to be high when the group was large.
Therefore the number of participants in every unit of data collection in the main
study was limited to 25 per group.
Main study. Phase I. In the first contact session with the participants recruited
for the study they were briefed about the objectives of the study and they were also
assured of confidentiality. Informed consent forms to be signed by the parents of the
participants were distributed in this session, and assent was obtained from the
participants.
In the second and third contact session, the participants who obtained consent
from their parents were administered the questionnaires. The participants were given a
choice of completing the questionnaires in English or Kannada. The questionnaires
took approximately two hours to be completed. The collection of data was done in
two sessions of one to one and half hours each within a time span of a week. It was
observed that government college students took more time than private college
students to complete the questionnaires.

Qualitative Phase
The rationale for phase II. The quantitative phase was designed to
understand the relationship of one specific aspect of career decision making, i.e.
career maturity with personality, perceived parenting style, metacognition, gender,
decision status, type of college, socio-economic status and stream of study (Arts,
Science, Commerce).
Theory and previous research have put forth the role of family and social
variables in the career decision-making process. Special relevance of these factors to
the Indian context has also been highlighted. The second phase of this study aimed at
exploring the role of personal and contextual factors in the career choices and decision
making of the individual. It aimed to obtain knowledge of these aspects of career
decision making to build and expand the results of the quantitative phase.
Research questions. The general research objective was refined to frame the
following research questions
What is the decision status of the individual regarding his career/ academic choices
and how did he arrive at this choice?
What are his future career plans and career expectations?
How has the individual gathered information related to career choices?
What are the factors according to the individual that have influenced his career/
academic plans?
In addition to other factors specifically, what role does family play in the career
decision making of adolescents?
Sample. A sample size between 20 -30 has been suggested by Creswell (as
cited in Mason, 2010). Hence 30 male and female participants from Arts, Science, and
Commerce streams in private and government colleges who were a part of the
quantitative phase were selected by a staff member of the college to be a participant in
this phase of the research. Details of the sample are given in Table 2.
Table 2
Sample Description for the Qualitative Phase
Arts Science Commerce Total
Male Female Male Female Male Female
Government 3 2 2 3 2 3 15
Private 2 3 3 2 2 3 15
Total 5 5 5 5 4 6 30
Table 2 shows that the sample had 14 male and 16 female participants. Equal
number of particpants (15) were taken from government and private colleges.
Semi-structured interview. Semi-structured interview is defined as “a
qualitative data collection strategy in which the researcher asks informants a series of
pre- determined but open-ended questions” (Ayres, 2008). According to Mertens (as
cited in Ghuangpeng, 2011) semi-structured interviews facilitate the collection of
information about participant’s perceptions, opinions, and experiences about a
particular aspect of the study. The aim of this phase of the study was to explore how
students made career choices and their perceptions of the factors that influenced this
decision. Hence semi-structured interview was selected as a tool for data collection.
The interview schedule was constructed on the basis of the theoretical premise
that personal and contextual factors influence career decision making. Adya and
Kaiser (2005) propose a model for research in the field of career choice in the
Information & Technology sector. They advocate exploration about the influence of
social factors like family, role models, gender stereotypes and individual factors in
career choice process of adolescents using techniques like semi-structured interviews.
These guidelines were kept in mind when developing the interview schedule for this
study.
The interview consisted of a combination of close and open-ended questions
aimed at eliciting information about the following areas: career choices and factors,
factors influencing career decisions, family and career decision-making. The
interview was designed to understand better the perspectives of the participants of the
above factors which may have influenced their career-related decision making.
The interview schedule was validated by three experts who have experience in
the field of qualitative research. Based on the feedback from the experts the questions
were modified, and a final interview schedule was drawn. Probes were formulated to
be used when it was necessary to elicit deeper information in any aspect. The final
interview schedule used in the study is attached as Appendix H.
Collection of data. Pilot study and main study. A pilot study was conducted
with two participants to test and refine the interview protocol. Modifications were
made where necessary, and the final interview schedule was drawn. The interview
was conducted face to face individually with these participants in a room with
minimal distractions and was audio recorded for further analysis. The participants
were informed about the audio recording and consent was taken from them for the
same. Consent was also taken from the participants to go on the record.
Ethical Considerations.
- Participation in the study was voluntary, and the participants were given freedom to
withdraw from the study at any time.
- Consent was obtained from the Principals of the colleges. Written consent was
obtained from the parents of the participants and the participants selected for the study
through an informed consent form which described the overall study details and
confidentiality issues.
- To protect the identity of individual participants, a unique identity number was
assigned to each participant both in the quantitative and qualitative phase. All further
references were made using this number.
- The computer in which the electronic data was stored and the device used for audio
recording of the interviews was password protected with access only to the researcher.
- The hard copies of the data have been stored under lock and key with access only to
the researcher.
- On request, individual results of the questionnaires were communicated to the
interested participants.
Summary
The study design has been described in this chapter. Details regarding the
research questions that guided the present study, the research hypotheses, and
procedure followed for data collection in both the quantitative and qualitative phases
and research sample details have been outlined in this chapter. The next chapter
highlights the procedure followed for analysis and interpretation of data.

Analysis and Interpretation
The broad aim of this research was to explore and understand factors
influencing career maturity and career decision-making in adolescents. A mixed
methods design was adopted with a quantitative phase and a qualitative phase.
Quantitative and qualitative methods used for the analysis of the data collected and
the results of the analysis are outlined in this chapter.
Quantitative Data Analysis and Interpretation
The quantitative phase aimed to study the relationship of career maturity with
personality traits, metacognition, perceived parenting style, gender, decision status
and contextual factors like gender, socio economic status, college type and stream of
study. A total of 600 protocols were collected. The data was screened, and incomplete
protocols were removed from the dataset. The final dataset includes data from 548
participants. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 18.
The hypotheses for the study was analyzed using the following statistical analysis.
Descriptive statistics was calculated for continuous variables while
frequencies and percentage were tabulated for categorical data. The aim of this
was to give a description of the data.
The data was tested for normality of the distribution using Q-Q plot and
histogram. Skewness and kurtosis of the data were examined. Parametric tests
were used for analysis of continuous variables as the data was normally
distributed. Although for some scores the SD was slightly high (not less than
half of the mean), the deviation was small and therefore same results were got
with parametric and non parametric methods. Additional parametric tests (t
test & ANOVA) are robust to slight deviation from normality. So linear
regression analysis was done which had normally distributed residuals. The
scores were transformed to check if this improved the model, but as
transformation did not impact model fit parametric tests and the linear
regression was reported.
Cronbach Alpha was calculated for the translated versions of the scales used in
the study.
Pearson product moment correlation was used to measure the strength of
association between variables.
Independent sample t-test was used to compare the continuous variables
between two groups.
One way ANOVA was used to compare the continuous variables between
more than two groups. Where the ANOVA was statistically significant post
hoc analysis was done to determine which group pair was significantly
different.
Multiple Linear Regression analysis was done to identify significant predictor
variables for the criterion variables.

The following section will provide details about the results of the analysis of
the data in relation to the hypotheses.
Table 3
Reliability Coefficients for the Sub-Scales of the Career Maturity Inventory
Sub Scale Cronbach’s Alpha

Attitude .73
Self-Appraisal .57
Occupational Information .62
Goal Selection .64
Planning .72
Problem Solving .39
The Cronbach’s alpha values reveal that the data from Career Maturity
Inventory was moderately reliable.
Table 4
Reliability Coefficients for Parental Authority Questionnaire
Authoritarian .73
Authoritative .69
Permissive .50
The Cronbach’s alpha values reveal that the data from the Parental Authority
Questionnaire was moderately reliable.
Table 5
Reliability Coefficient for Metacognitive Awareness Inventory
Cronbach’s Alpha
MAI .78
The Cronbach’s alpha values reveal that the data from the Metacognitive
Awareness Inventory was highly reliable.
Table 6
Reliability Coefficients for Neo Five Factor Inventory
Neuroticism .64
Openness .31
Conscientiousness .67
Extraversion .49
Agreeableness .46
The Cronbach’s alpha values reveal that the data from the neuroticism and
conscientiousness scales of the Neo Five Factor Inventory was moderately reliable.
However, data from the openness, extraversion and agreeableness sub scales showed
low Cronbach’s alpha values.

Table 7
Sample description for Socio-Economic Status, SSLC percentage, Decision status and
Exposure to Career Counseling
Variable N % of
sample
Socio-economic status
Upper 35 8.1
Upper Middle 182 42.3
Lower middle 135 31.4
Lower 78 18.1
Total 430 100
Class obtained in SSLC
Distinction 60 11.1
First Class 285 52.8
Second Class 80 16.5
Third Class 106 19.6
Decision status related to career choice
Decided 267 48.7
Undecided 281 51.3
Exposure to career counseling
Yes 109 19.9
No 419 76.6
Not specified 19 3.5
The characteristics of the sample have been described in Table 7. It was seen
that majority of the participants belonged to the middle socio economic status
category. Only a small percentage belonged to the upper (8%) and lower (18%) socio
economic status categories. 53.7 % of the sample had secured first class in their SSLC
examination. The data also reveals that majority of the sample has had no exposure to
formal career counseling programs.
Table 8
Distribution of scores on Career Maturity Attitude Scale, Career Maturity
Competence Scales, Metacognition and Personality traits in the Sample
Variable Mean SD
CMI Attitude 26.85 5.46
Self- Appraisal 5.59 2.48
Occupational
6.24 2.98
Information
Goal Selection 5.01 2.65
Planning 4.53 2.83
Problem Solving 3.68 1.94
Metacognition 37.46 6.37
Neuroticism 24.89 5.97
Extraversion 28.09 4.61
Openness 24.54 4.35
Agreeableness 25.31 4.90
Conscientiousness 28.77 5.96
Table 8 describes the average scores of the subscales of the career maturity
inventory, metacognition and personality traits for the sample.

Table 9
Correlation between Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales with
Personality traits
Group Att SA OI GS P PS
Neuroticism -.14** .049 .040 .048 .098* .056
Extraversion .01 .037 .008 .018 .001 .027
Openness .16** .179** .068 .066 .038 .021
Agreeableness .05 .016 .062 .027 .030 .034
Conscientiousness .12** -.020 -.059 -.012 -.080 -.070
Note. Att= Attitude scale, SA= Self-Appraisal, OI= Occupational Information, GS=
Goal Selection, P= Planning, PS= Problem Solving
*p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
Table 9 shows that a significant negative correlation was seen between
neuroticism and career maturity attitude while a significant positive relationship was
seen between planning and neuroticism. This indicates that as neuroticism increases
scores on attitude component of career maturity decreases but as neuroticism
increases planning also increases. A strong positive correlation was present between
openness and career maturity attitude and self-appraisal while the same was seen
between career maturity attitude and conscientiousness. This indicates that as
openness and conscientiousness increase scores on career maturity attitude scale also
increase. An increase in openness is also reflected in an increase in self-appraisal.
Personality traits extraversion and agreeableness did not show a statistically
significant association with career maturity attitude and competency scales. This
implies that specific personality traits are associated with specific components of
career maturity. Hence hypothesis 1a which states that agreeableness,
conscientiousness, openness and extraversion will have a positive relationship with

career maturity attitude and competence and hypothesis 1b that states that neuroticism
will have a negative relationship with career maturity attitude and competence are
partially accepted.
Table 10
Correlation between Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales with
Metacognition
Variable Att SA OI GS P PS
Metacognition .02 .006 .019 .037 .004 .053
Goal Selection, P= Planning, PS = Problem Solving
*p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
To test hypothesis two which states that level of metacognitive awareness will
be positively related to career maturity attitude and competence, correlation analysis
was done. Table 10 reveals that the correlation between metacognition and career
maturity attitude and competency scales was not statistically significant. This
indicates that there is no strong relationship between metacognition and career
maturity as assessed by the Career Maturity Inventory. Hence hypotheses two was
rejected.
Table 11
Correlation between Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales with Parenting
Styles
CMI Scales
Group Att SA OI GS P PS
Authoritarian -.27** -.136** -.151** -.204** -.160** -.173**
Authoritative .11** .073 .126** .149** .092* -.006
Permissive -.01 -.076 -.023 .013 .007 -.068
*p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
Table 11 shows that there is a significant negative relationship between career
maturity attitude, self-appraisal, occupational information, goal selection, planning,
problem solving and authoritarian parenting styles. Therefore hypothesis 3b that states
that authoritarian parenting style will not have a significant relationship with career
maturity attitude, and competence is rejected. It shows that scores on career maturity
attitude and competence decrease as parents adopt an authoritarian parenting style.
A significant positive correlation was seen between career maturity attitude,
self-appraisal, occupational information, goal selection, planning and authoritative
parenting style. This means that scores of career maturity attitude and self-appraisal,
occupational information, goal selection, planning of the competency scales of the
Career Maturity Inventory will be higher for participants who perceived their parents
as having an authoritative style of parenting. Therefore hypothesis 3c that states that
authoritative parenting style will not have a significant relationship with career
maturity attitude, and competence is rejected.

The relationship between permissive parenting style and career maturity
attitude and competency scales was not significant. Hence hypothesis 3a that states
that permissive parenting style will not have a significant relationship with career
maturity attitude and competence is accepted.
Table 12
Comparison of Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales across Authoritarian
(A), Authoritative (Au) and Permissive (Pe) Parenting Styles
A Au Pe
M ± (SD) M ± (SD) M ± (SD) F df p
Att 25.80 (4.89) 27.58 (5.75) 26 (4.98) 6.59 2,544 .001**
SA 5.52 (2.42) 5.75 (2.57) 5.21 (2.24) 2.045 2,545 .130
OI 5.63 (2.80) 6.69 (2.93) 5.69 (3.12) 8.197 2,543 <.001**
GS 4.27 (2.44) 5.51 (2.67) 4.45 (2.50) 13.61 2,545 <.001**
P 3.80 (2.59) 4.93 (2.82) 4.27 (2.94) 7.89 2,545 <.001**
PS 3.19 (2.01) 3.92 (1.89) 3.57 (1.88) 6.74 2,542 .001**
*p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
Table 12 shows that there is a significant difference in career maturity attitude,
occupational information, goal selection, planning and problem solving across
authoritarian, authoritative and permissive parenting styles. However, no significant
difference was seen between the groups on self-appraisal indicating that these groups
were comparable on this component of career maturity. Participant’s whose parents
adopted an authoritative parenting style had higher career maturity scores than
participants who perceived their parents as authoritarian or permissive. Hence
hypothesis 3d that states that there will be a significant difference in career maturity
attitude and competence in children whose parents have an authoritarian, authoritative
and permissive parenting style is largely accepted.
Post hoc analysis was done using the Tukey test. Post hoc analysis reveals that
career maturity attitude was significantly different between the authoritarian and
authoritative groups (p= 0.005) and authoritative and permissive groups (p=0.022).
Participants who perceived their parents to have an authoritative parenting style had
more mature attitudes towards career decisions than participants who perceived their
parents to have an authoritarian parenting style. However, there was no significant
difference between authoritarian and permissive groups.
Post hoc analysis reveals that occupational information was significantly
higher in the authoritative group than authoritarian groups (p= 0.002). Occupational
information was also significantly higher in the authoritative group in comparison to
the permissive group (p= 0.006). However, there was no significant difference
between authoritarian and permissive groups.
Post hoc analysis reveals that goal selection was significantly different
between the authoritarian and authoritative groups (p= <0.001) and authoritative and
permissive groups (p= 0.006). However, there was no significant difference between
authoritarian and permissive groups.
Post hoc analysis reveals that planning was significantly different between the
authoritarian and authoritative groups (p= <0.001). However, there was no significant
difference between authoritative and permissive groups and between authoritarian and
permissive groups.
Post hoc analysis reveals that problem solving was significantly different
between the authoritarian and authoritative groups (p= 0.001). However, there was no
significant difference between authoritarian and permissive groups as well as
authoritative and permissive groups.
Table 13
Comparison of Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales between Male and
Female Participants
Male Female
M ± SD M ± SD t df p
Att 27.09 (5.25) 26.62 (5.65) .99 545 .321
SA 5.45 (2.53) 5.72 (2.43) -1.25 546 .209
OI 5.95 (3.05) 6.51 (2.90) -2.18 544 .030*
GS 4.56 (2.72) 5.42 (2.52) -3.86 546 <.001**
P 4.03 (2.83) 4.99 (2.76) -4.00 546 <.001**
PS 3.41 (1.97) 3.93 (1.87) -3.18 543 .002**
Note. Att= Attitude scale, SA= Self-Appraisal, OI= Occupational

Information, GS= Goal Selection, P= Planning, PS= Problem Solving
*p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
Table 13 shows that there is a significant difference in career maturity
competencies occupational information, goal selection, planning and problem solving
between male and female groups with female participants having significantly higher
scores in comparison to male participants. However, there was no significant
difference between the groups on career maturity attitude and competency one (self-
appraisal) of the competency scale. This indicates that the two groups were
comparable on career maturity attitude and self- appraisal. Based on these results
hypothesis 4a that states that there will be no significant differences in career maturity
attitude based on gender is accepted, and hypothesis 4b which states that there will be
no significant difference in career maturity competencies based on gender is partially
accepted.
Table 14
Comparison of Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales between Socio
Economic Status (SES) Categories
Upper UM LM Lower
M± M± M± M± F df p
(SD) (SD) (SD) (SD)
Att 32.66 27.11 25.53 25.49 21.16 3,425 <.001**

(6.44) (5.54) (4.41) (3.36)
SA 7.43 5.68 4.85 5.55 11.69 3,426 <.001**

(2.67) (2.52) (2.16) (2.00)
OI 8.03 6.50 5.85 5.22 11.92 3,424 <.001**

(2.61) (3.16) (2.71) (2.14)
GS 6.37 5.23 4.81 4.49 5.12 3,426 .002**

(2.80) (2.76) (2.65) (1.95)
P 6.06 5.12 3.83 3.44 14.46 3.426 <.001**

(3.12) (3.20) (2.23) (1.85)
PS 4.31 3.93 3.50 3.26 4.29 3,424 .006**

(2.37) (2.11) (2.23) (1.85)
Note. UM= Upper- Middle, LM= Lower middle, Att= Attitude scale, SA=
Self-Appraisal, OI= Occupational Information, GS= Goal Selection, P=
Planning, PS = Problem Solving
*p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
To evaluate if students from different socio-economic backgrounds also differ
significantly on attitude and competency scales on the Career Maturity Inventory one
way ANOVA was done. Table 14 shows that there is a significant difference in career
maturity attitude, self-appraisal, occupational information, goal selection, planning

and problem solving across upper, upper middle, lower middle, and lower socio
economic status groups. Hence hypothesis 5a that states that there will be no
significant differences in career maturity attitude between students who belong to
upper, upper- middle, lower- middle, and lower socio economic status groups and 5b
which states that there will be no significant differences in career maturity
competence between students who belong to upper, upper- middle, lower- middle and
lower socio economic status groups stand rejected.
Post hoc analysis was done using Tukey test. Post hoc analysis reveals that
career maturity attitude was significantly different between upper and upper- middle
socio economic status groups (p<0.001); upper and lower-middle socio economic
status (p<0.001); upper and lower socio economic status (p<0.001); upper- middle
and lower- middle socio economic status (p=0.027). There was no significant
difference between upper middle and lower socio economic status groups and
between lower middle and lower socio economic status groups.
Post hoc analysis reveals that competency one (self-appraisal) was
significantly different between the upper and upper- middle socio economic status
groups (p= <.001); upper and lower-middle socio economic status group (p= <0.001)
and upper and lower socio economic status groups (p= 0.001). Significant differences
were also seen between upper- middle socio economic status group and lower-middle
socio economic status group (p= 0. 012) and also between upper- middle socio
economic status and lower socio economic status categories (p=0.02). However, there
was no significant difference between lower-middle socio economic status and lower
socio economic status groups (p= 0.021).
Post hoc analysis reveals that career maturity competency two (occupational
information) was significantly different between the upper and upper- middle socio
economic status groups (p= 0.021); upper and lower-middle socio economic status
groups (p= <0.001) and upper and lower socio economic status groups (p < 0.001).
Significant differences were also seen between upper- middle socio economic status
group and lower socio economic status group (p= 0. 005) However, there was no
significant difference between upper- middle socio economic status and lower-middle
socio economic status groups (p= 0.258) and between lower- middle and lower socio
economic status groups (p= 0.693).
Post hoc analysis reveals that career maturity competency three (goal
selection) was significantly different between the upper and lower-middle socio
economic status group (p= 0.011) and upper and lower socio economic status groups
(p= 0.003). However, there was no significant difference between upper and upper-
middle socio economic status groups (p=0.109) and between upper- middle and
lower- middle socio economic status groups (p= 0.96) and upper- middle and lower
socio economic status groups (p= 0.21). Significant differences were also not present
between lower- middle and lower socio economic status groups (p= 1.0).
Post hoc analysis reveals that planning was significantly different between the
upper and lower-middle socio economic status group (p <0.001) and upper and lower
socio economic status groups (p< 0.001). However, there was no significant
difference between upper and upper middle socio economic status groups (p=0.362).
There was a significant difference between upper middle and lower middle socio
economic status groups (p< 0.001) and upper middle and lower socio economic status
groups (p< 001). Significant differences were not present between lower middle and
lower socio economic status groups (p= 1.0).
Post hoc analysis reveals that competency five (problem solving) was
significantly different between the upper and lower socio economic status groups (p=
0.042). However, there was no significant difference between upper and upper-
middle socio- economic status groups (p=1.0) and upper and lower middle groups (p=
0.151). There was a significant difference between upper- middle and lower socio
economic status groups (p= 0.058). There was no significant difference between
upper-middle and lower- middle groups (p= 0.277). Significant differences were not
present between lower- middle and lower socio economic status groups (p= 1.0).
Table 15
Comparison of Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales between College
Type
Government Private
Att 25.30 (4.27) 28.18 (6.00) -6.52 527 <.001**
SA 5.19 (2.09) 5.93 (2.73) -3.56 538 <.001**
OI 5.39 (2.55) 6.98 (3.14) -6.51 542 <.001**
GS 4.47 (2.32) 5.47 (2.82) -4.54 544 <.001**
P 3.70 (2.02) 5.25 (3.21) -6.84 500 <.001**
PS 3.27 (1.57) 4.04 (2. 15) -4.84 529 <.001**
Note. Att= Attitude scale, SA= Self-Appraisal, OI= Occupational

Information, GS= Goal Selection, P= Planning, PS= Problem Solving
*p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
and self-appraisal, occupational information, goal selection, planning and problem
solving competencies between students from private and government colleges.
Students from private colleges scored significantly higher on attitude and competence
aspects of career maturity. Based on these results hypothesis 6a that states that there
will be no significant differences in career maturity attitude between students studying

in government and private colleges and hypothesis 6b which states that there will be
no significant differences in career maturity competence between students studying in
government and private colleges are rejected.
Table 16
Comparison of Career Maturity Attitude and Competency scales between Arts,
Science, and Commerce Streams
Science Arts Commerce
M± (SD) M ± (SD) M ± (SD) F df p
Att 26.26 (5.14) 27.51(6.36) 26.79 (4.77) 2.39 (2, 544) .09
SA 5.61 (2.53) 6.04 (2.52) 5.13 (2.32) 6.16 (2, 545) .002**
OI 6.25 (3.06) 6.55 (2.91) 5.93 (2.96) 1.96 (2, 543) .141
GS 5.20 (2.88) 4.98 (2.77) 4.85 (2.26) 0.82 (2, 545) .44
P 4.49 (2.86) 4.80 (2.91) 4.32 (2.72) 1.33 (2, 545) .265
PS 3.40 (2.12) 3.81 (2.06) 3.85 (1.56) 2.89 (2, 542) .057
*p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
Table 16 shows that there is a significant difference in self-appraisal across
Arts, Science, and Commerce groups. There was no significant difference between the
groups on career maturity attitude, occupational information, goal selection, planning,
and problem solving. Based on the results hypothesis 7a which states there will be no
significant differences in career maturity attitude between students studying in Arts,
Science and Commerce streams was accepted, and 7b stating that there will be no
significant differences in career maturity competence between students studying in
Arts, Science and Commerce streams was partially accepted.

Post hoc results using the Bonferroni test reveal that competency one (self-
appraisal) is significantly different between Arts and Commerce groups (p= 0.001)
with Arts students having higher scores than Commerce students. There is no
significant difference between Science and Arts groups (p= 0.289) and between
Science and Commerce groups (p= 0.193) on self- appraisal.
Table 17
Comparison of Career Maturity Attitude and Competency Scales between Decided
and Undecided groups
Decided Undecided
Att 28.04 (6.01) 25.71(4.61) 5.05 498 <.001**
SA 6.01 (2.74) 5.19 (2.13) 3.88 501 <.001**
OI 6.78 (3.18) 5.72 (2.68) 4.20 520 <.001**
GS 5.48 (2.84) 4.57 (2.37) 4.05 518 <.001**
P 5.15 (3.20) 3.95 (2.28) 5.03 479 <.001**
PS 3.80 (2.07) 3.57 (1.79) 1.39 525 .162
*p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
and competencies self-appraisal, occupational information, goal selection and
planning between students who are decided and undecided about their future career
choice. There is no significant difference in problem solving between decided and
undecided students. Based on these results hypothesis 8a which states that there will
be no significant differences in career maturity attitude between students who are
decided and undecided about their future career is rejected, and 8b is which states that
there will be no significant differences in career maturity competence between
students who are decided and undecided about their future career is partially rejected.
In an attempt to answer research question nine six Multiple Regression
Analysis were done to examine the relationships between predictor variables with six
different components of criterion variable of career maturity. The predictor variables
were parenting style, personality traits, metacognition, gender, socio- economic status,
decision status, college type and stream of study while the criterion variable was
career maturity attitude and five components of career maturity competence. The
variables which were significantly associated with the specific subscales of the
criterion variable career maturity in the bivariate analyses using independent t-test and
one way ANOVA were considered as potential predictors for the multiple regression
analyses. The aim was to see if one or more of the selected variables significantly
predicted the criterion variable and also when taken together the variance that they
accounted for in the criterion variable. The F test associated with the regression
analyses was analyzed to see if the model was statistically significant. The R2 value
represents the degree of variance in the criterion variable that can be explained by
predictor variables. The t- values and p- values for the regression coefficients were
used to determine statistical significance in each of the predictor variables.

Table 18
Results for Multiple Linear Regression analysis with variables Openness,
Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, College type, Decision Status, Socio-Economic
Status, Parenting Style predicting Career Maturity Attitude
Source B SE B Β t p
(Constant) 26.614 2.798 9.513 <.001**
Middle SES -4.356 0.908 -0.406 -4.798 <.001**
Lower middle SES -5.443 0.988 -0.477 -5.507 <.001**
Lower SES -5.054 1.106 -0.366 -4.571 <.001**
College Type 1.659 0.582 0.156 2.852 .005**
Neuroticism -.146 0.041 -0.162 -3.583 <.001**
Openness .114 0.053 0.097 2.155 .032*
Conscientiousness 0.097 0.042 0.108 2.313 .021*
Decision status 1.141 0.495 0.107 2.307 .022*
Permissive -0.773 0.613 -0.058 -1.261 .208
Authoritarian -1.059 0.556 -0.087 -1.907 .057*
Note. *p ≤ 0.05; ** p< 0.01
Table 18 shows the results of the Multiple Linear Regression analysis which
was done to examine the relationship between career maturity attitude scores and
potential predictors which were significantly associated with attitude scores (p<0.05)
in the bivariate analyses. The potential predictors included in the final model were
perceived parenting style, type of college, decision status, socio-economic status and
neuroticism, openness and conscientiousness from the personality trait domains.
Comparing career maturity attitude scores based on socio-economic class, the
students belonging to upper- middle, lower- middle, and lower socio economic status
have significantly lower career maturity attitude scores than the students belonging to
upper socio economic status (p<0.001). The upper middle, lower middle, and lower
socio economic status groups have 4.356, 5.443 and 5.054 lower scores than upper-
class students respectively.
The students studying in private colleges have significantly higher career
maturity attitude scores than the students studying in government colleges (p=0.005).
The private college students have 1.659 higher scores than government college
students.
There is a significant linear relationship between Neuroticism, Openness,
Conscientiousness and career maturity attitude scores (p< .001, p=0.032 and p=0.021
respectively). For every additional unit in neuroticism, we can expect the attitude
score to decrease by an average of 0.146, whereas for every additional unit in
openness and conscientiousness we can expect the career maturity attitude score to
increase by an average of 0.114 and 0.097 respectively.
The decided group of students has significantly higher career maturity attitude
scores than the not decided group of students (p=0.022). The decided group of
students has 1.141 higher scores than not decided group of students.
The career maturity attitude scores of students belonging to permissive and
authoritarian parenting styles are not significantly different from those belonging to
authoritative parenting style (p=0.208 and p=0.057 respectively).
The overall model with career maturity attitude as the criterion variable was
significant indicating that the linear combination of individual variables were
significant predictors of career maturity attitude, F(10,418) = 11.90, p<0.001. The

linear combination of the predictor variables explains 22% of the variance in the
career maturity attitude scores in the study sample (R2 =0.222).
The regression equation for predicting career maturity attitude is career
maturity attitude = 26.61 + (-4.36* middle SES) + (-5.44*lower middle SES) + (-
5.05*lower SES) + (1.66*college type) + (-0.14*neuroticism) + (0.11*openness) +
(0.09*conscientiousness) + (1.14*decision status)+ (-0.77*permissive)+ (-
1.05*authoritarian).
Table 19
Results for Multiple Linear Regression analysis with variables Openness, College
type, Decision Status, Stream of study, Socio-Economic Status (SES) predicting
Competency One (Self- Appraisal)
Source B SE B Β t p
(Constant) 2.450 0.835 2.935 .004**
Openness 0.084 0.026 0.156 3.278 .001**
College Type 0.400 0.275 0.083 1.455 .147
Decision status 0.542 0.250 0.112 2.170 .031*
Science -0.381 0.286 -0.073 -1.331 .184
Commerce -0.661 0.276 -0.130 -2.391 .017*
Upper SES 1.761 0.480 0.199 3.669 <.001**
Middle SES 0.523 0.278 0.107 1.886 .060
Lower SES 0.768 0.333 0.122 2.311 .021*
Note. *p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
Table 19 shows the results of the multiple linear regression analysis which was
done to examine the relationship between competency one (self-appraisal) scores and
various potential predictors which were significantly associated with component one
(self-appraisal) (p<0.05) in the bivariate analyses. The potential predictors included in
the final model were openness from the personality trait domains, type of college,
decision status, stream of study and socioeconomic status. There is a significant linear
relationship between self-appraisal and openness (p=0 .001). For every additional unit
in openness, we can expect self-appraisal to increase by an average of 0.084.
There is no significant difference in self-appraisal scores between students
from government and private colleges. (p=0.147). The decided group of students has
significantly higher self-appraisal scores than the not decided group of students
(p=0.031). The decided group of students has 0.542 higher scores than not decided
group of students.
Comparing Science, Commerce, and Arts stream students’ self-appraisal
scores, no significant difference was seen between Science and Arts stream students
(p=0.184), whereas the Commerce stream students have significantly lower self-
appraisal scores than the arts stream students (p=0.017). The Commerce stream
students have 0.661 lower scores than arts stream students.
Comparing competency one (self-appraisal) scores based on socioeconomic
status, the students belonging to upper and lower socio-economic status have
significantly higher self-appraisal scores than the students belonging to lower middle
and lower class (p<0.001 and p=0.021), whereas there is no significant difference in
self-appraisal scores between students belonging to middle and lower-middle socio
economic status. (p=0.060).The upper socio economic status students have 1.761
higher scores than lower-middle socio economic status students, and the lower socio
economic status students have 0.768 higher scores than lower-middle-class students.
The overall model with competency one (self-appraisal) as the criterion
variable was significant indicating that the linear combination individual variables
were significant predictors of career maturity competency one (self- appraisal),
F(8,421) = 8.26, p<0.001. The model explains 14% of the variance of the self-
appraisal scores in the study sample (R2 =0.136). Therefore while the model is
statistically significant, the practical significance may be low because of low variance.
The regression equation for predicting career maturity competency one (Self-
Appraisal) is Self-appraisal = 2.45+ (0.08*openness)+(0.40*college
type)+(0.54*decision status)+(-0.38*science)+(-0.66*commerce)+(1.76*Upper
SES)+(0.52*middle SES)+(0.76*lower SES)
Table 20
Results for Multiple Linear Regression analysis with variables Gender, College type,
Decision Status, Parenting Style, Socio-economic Status (SES) predicting Competency
Two (Occupational Information)
Source B SE B β t p
(Constant) 4.825 0.903 5.341 <.001**
Gender 0.612 0.268 0.106 2.282 .023*
College Type 1.015 0.323 0.175 3.142 .002**
Decision status 0.582 0.286 0.100 2.032 .043*
Permissive -0.827 0.351 -0.113 -2.357 .019*
Authoritarian -0.720 0.318 -0.108 -2.263 .024*
Middle SES -0.893 0.518 -0.152 -1.723 .086
Lower middle SES -1.136 0.562 -0.182 -2.020 .044*
Lower SES -1.418 0.632 -0.189 -2.244 .025*
Note. *p ≤ 0.05; ** p< 0.01

Table 20 shows the results of the Multiple Linear Regression analysis which
was done to examine the relationship between competency 2 (occupational
information) scores and potential predictors which were significantly associated with
competency two (p<0.05) in the bivariate analyses. The potential predictors included
in the final model were gender, type of college, decision status, perceived parenting
style and socioeconomic status.
Female students have significantly higher occupational information scores
than the male students (p=0.023). The female students have 0.612 higher scores than
male students. The students studying in private colleges have significantly higher
occupational information scores than the students studying in government colleges
(p=0.002). The private college students have 1.015 higher scores than government
college students.
The decided group of students has significantly higher occupational
information scores than the not decided group of students (p=0.043). The decided
group of students has 0.582 higher score than not decided group of students.
Comparing occupational information scores based on the parenting styles, the
students belonging to permissive and authoritarian parenting styles have significantly
lower scores than the students belonging to authoritative parenting style (p=0.019 and
p=0.024 respectively). The students belonging to permissive parenting style have
0.827 lower scores than those belonging to authoritative parenting style and the
students belonging to authoritarian parenting style have 0.720 lower scores than those
belonging to authoritative parenting style.
Comparing occupational information scores based on socio-economic class,
the students belonging to lower middle and lower class have significantly lower than
the students belonging to upper socio economic status (p=0.044 and p=0.025
respectively), whereas there is no significant difference between students belonging to
middle and upper socio-economic status. (p=0.086). The lower middle and lower class
students have 1.136 lower scores than upper socio-economic status students. The
lower class students have 1.418 lower scores than upper-class students.
The of overall model with competency two (occupational information) as the
criterion variable was significant indicating that the linear combination of individual
variables were significant predictors of career maturity component 2, F(8, 419) =
7.72, p<0.001. The model explains 13% of the variance of the component 2 scores in
the study sample (R2 =0.128). Therefore while the model is statistically significant,
the practical significance may be low because of low variance.
The regression equation for predicting career maturity component two is 4.82+
(0.61*gender) + (1.01*college type) + (0.58*decision status) + (-0.82*permissive) +
(-0.72*authoritarian) + (-0.89*middle SES) + (-1.13*lower middle SES) + (-
1.41*lower SES)
Table 21
Results for Multiple Linear Regression analysis with variables Gender, Decision
Status, Parenting Style, Socio-Economic Status predicting Competency Three (Goal
Selection)
Source B SE B β t p
(Constant) 4.689 0.626 7.486 <.001**
Middle -0.700 0.466 -0.131 -1.502 .134
Lower middle -1.002 0.484 -0.176 -2.069 .039*
Lower -1.202 0.526 -0.176 -2.286 .023*
Gender 0.852 0.244 0.161 3.488 .001**
Decided? 0.874 0.253 0.165 3.452 .001**
Permissive -1.073 0.320 -0.161 -3.357 .001**
Authoritarian -1.036 0.290 -0.171 -3.572 <.001*
Note. *p < 0.05; ** p< 0.01
done to examine the relationship between competency three (goal selection) scores
and various potential predictors which were significantly associated with goal
selection (p<0.05) in the bivariate analyses. The potential predictors included in the
final model were gender, decision status, parenting style and socioeconomic class.
Comparing goal selection scores based on socio-economic status, the students
belonging to lower- middle and lower socio-economic status have significantly lower
scores than the students belonging to upper socio economic status (p=0.039 and p=
0.023 respectively) whereas there is no significant difference between students
belonging to middle and upper socio economic status. (p=0.134). The lower- middle
and lower socio economic status students have 1.002 lower scores than upper socio
economic status students, and the lower socio economic status students have 1.202
lower scores than upper socio economic status students.
The female students have significantly higher goal selection scores than the
male students (p=0.001). The female students have 0.852 higher score than male
students.
The decided group of students has significantly higher goal selection scores
than the not decided group of students (p=0.001). The decided group of students has
0.874 higher scores than the undecided group of students.
Comparing goal selection scores based on the parenting styles, the students
belonging to permissive and authoritarian parenting styles have significantly lower
scores than the students belonging to authoritative parenting style (p=0.001 and
<0.001 respectively). The students belonging to permissive parenting style have 1.073
lower scores than those belonging to authoritative parenting style and the students
belonging to authoritarian parenting style have 1.036 lower scores than those
The overall model with goal selection as the criterion variable was significant
indicating that the linear combination individual variables were significant predictors
of career maturity component 3, F(7, 422)= 8.42, p<0.001. The model explains 12%
of the variance of the component 3 scores in the study sample (R2 =0.123). Therefore
while the model is statistically significant, the practical significance may be low
because of low variance.
The regression equation for predicting career maturity competency three (goal
selection) is goal selection = 4.68+ (-0.70*middle SES) + (-1.002*lower middle SES)

+ (-1.20* lower SES)+ (0.85*gender)+ (0.87*decision status) + (-1.07*permissive)+
(-1.03*authoritarian).
Table 22
Results for Multiple Linear Regression analysis with variables College type, Decision
Status, Socio-Economic Status, Parenting style and Neuroticism predicting
Competency Four (Planning)
Source B SE B β t P
(Constant) 2.045 0.970 2.109 .036*
Middle -0.281 0.491 -0.049 -0.573 .567
Lower middle -1.177 0.532 -0.193 -2.211 .028*
Lower -1.248 0.598 -0.170 -2.087 .037*
Gender 0.986 0.253 0.174 3.892 <.001**
Decision status 0.768 0.271 0.136 2.837 .005**
Permissive -0.749 0.332 -0.105 -2.252 .025*
Authoritarian -0.879 0.301 -0.135 -2.915 .004**
College Type 0.833 0.307 0.147 2.708 .007**
Neuroticism 0.018 0.021 0.038 0.859 .391
Note. *p ≤ 0.05; ** p< 0.01
done to examine the relationship between competency four (planning) scores and
various potential predictors which were significantly associated with planning
(p<0.05) in the bivariate analyses. The potential predictors included in the final model
were gender, decision status, parenting style, college type, neuroticism from the
personality trait domains and socioeconomic status.

Comparing planning scores based on socio-economic status, the students
belonging to lower middle and lower socio- economic status have significantly lower
scores than the students belonging to upper socio- economic status (p=0.028 and
p=0.037 respectively), whereas there was no significant difference between students
belonging to middle and upper socio- economic status. (p=0.567). The lower- middle
and lower SES students have 1.177 lower scores than upper socio- economic status
students, and the lower socio- economic status students have 1.248 lower scores than
upper socio- economic status students.
The female students have significantly higher planning scores than the male
students (p<0.001). The female students have 0.986 higher scores than male students.
The decided group of students has significantly higher scores than the not decided
group of students (p=0.005). The decided group of students has 0.768 higher scores
than not decided group of students.
Comparing planning scores based on the parenting styles, the students
scores than the students belonging to authoritative parenting style (p=0.025 and 0.004
respectively). The students belonging to permissive parenting style have 0.749 lower
scores than those belonging to authoritative parenting style and the students belonging
to authoritarian parenting style have 0.879 lower scores than those belonging to
authoritative parenting style.
The students studying in private colleges have significantly higher planning
scores than the students studying in government colleges (p=0.007). The private
college students have 0.833 higher scores than government college students. There is
no significant linear relationship between planning and neuroticism (p=0.391).

The overall model with planning as the criterion variable was significant
indicating that the linear combination individual variables were significant predictors
of career maturity component 4, F(9, 420) = 10.26, p<0.001.The model explains 18%
of the variance in the planning scores in the study sample (R2 =0.180).
The regression equation for predicting career maturity competency four is
Planning = 2.04+ (-0.28*middle SES) + (-1.17*lower middle SES) + (-1.24*lower
SES) + (0.98*gender)+ (0.76*decision status)+ (-0.74*permissive)+ (-
0.87*authoritarian)+ (0.83*college type)+ (0.01*neuroticism).
Table 23
Results for Multiple Linear Regression analysis with variables Gender, Parenting
Style, Decision Status, Stream of study, Socioeconomic Status predicting Competency
Five (Problem Solving)
Source B SE B β t P
(Constant) 3.033 0.385 7.879 <.001**
Gender 0.401 0.183 0.103 2.189 .029*
Permissive -0.587 0.241 -0.120 -2.438 .015*
Authoritarian -0.749 0.221 -0.167 -3.394 .001**
Upper SES 0.933 0.385 0.132 2.420 .016*
Middle SES 0.691 0.256 0.176 2.699 .007*
Lower middle
0.277 0.269 0.067 1.031 .303
SES
Science -0.329 0.227 -0.080 -1.450 .148
Commerce 0.089 0.225 0.022 0.394 .694
Note. *p ≤ 0.05; ** p< 0.01

done to examine the relationship between component five (problem solving) scores
and various potential predictors which were significantly associated with problem
solving (p<0.05) in the bivariate analyses. The potential predictors included in the
final model were gender, parenting style, stream of students and socio-economic
status.
The female students have significantly higher problem solving scores than the
male students (p=0.029). The female students have 0.401 higher scores than male
students.
Comparing problem solving scores based on the parenting styles, the students
scores than the students belonging to authoritative parenting style (p=0.029 and
p=0.001 respectively). The students belonging to permissive parenting style have
0.587 lower scores than those belonging to authoritative parenting style and the
students belonging to authoritarian parenting style have 0.749 lower scores than those
Comparing problem solving scores based on socio-economic status, the
students belonging to upper and middle class have significantly higher scores than the
students belonging to lower SES (p=0.016 and p=0.007 respectively), whereas there is
no significant difference between students belonging to lower middle and lower SES
(p=0.303). The upper socio- economic status students have 0.933 higher scores than
lower socio- economic status students, and the middle socio- economic status students
have 0.691 higher scores than lower socio- economic status students.
The problem solving scores of students belonging to Science and Commerce
stream were not significantly different from those belonging to Arts stream (p=0.148
and 0.694 respectively).
The overall model with problem solving as the criterion variable was
significant indicating that the linear combination of individual variables were
significant predictors of career maturity component 5, F(8, 419) = 4. 51, p<0.001.
However, the model explains 8% of the variance in problem solving scores in the
study sample (R2 =0.079).
The regression equation for predicting career maturity competency five
(problem solving) is problem solving = 3.03+ (0.40*gender) + (-0.58*permissive) + (-
0.74*authoritarian) + (0.93*upper SES) + (0.69*middle SES) + (0.27*lower middle
SES) + (-0.32*science) + (0.08*commerce).
Results of regression analyses taken together. Six regression analyses
revealed that the different combinations of predictor variables parenting style,
personality traits, gender, socio- economic status, decision status, college type and
stream of study contributed in varying degrees to attitude and competence aspects of
career maturity.
Specifically these groups of predictors explained 22% variance of career
maturity attitude, 14% of career maturity component 1 (self-appraisal), 13% of
variance in component 2 (occupational information), 12% variance of component 3
(goal selection), 18% variance of component 4 (planning) and 8% variance of
component 5 (problem solving). This shows that moderate variance in career maturity
attitude and competence can be explained by the combinations of these predictor
variables.
The results of the regression analyses showed poor to average predictability of
variance in career maturity attitude and competence. The exact relationship between
these combinations of predictor variables with career maturity is not explored in
literature. Personality, parenting style, socio-economic status, and metacognition have
been studied individually or in combination with other variables in relation to career
maturity and other aspects of career decision making. The results reveal that these
variables do influence career maturity to some degree while other variables not
included in this research may also be influencing the same. The influences on career
choices have been explored in the qualitative study. The results can impact change by
encouraging further research to understand the role of these above factors in career
maturity.
Qualitative Data Analysis and Interpretation
The data obtained from the semi-structured interviews conducted with 30
participants was thematically analyzed using template analysis. Template analysis is
majorly used in the analyses of interview transcripts. It is a qualitative technique
where themes are identified and organized based on a coding template. Template
analysis begins with the presence of tentative “a priori” themes that the researcher has
in mind and have been defined at the beginning of the research. These themes may be
guided by theory or important perspectives or practical concerns which the researcher
wishes to uncover. The a priori codes may be based on research questions of interest
(Sevelius, 2013). Thus this technique is useful to study applied concerns. The
technique involves the development of a coding template based on a subset of data
and revised in the process of coding (Brooks, Joanna and King, & Nigel, 2012).
The recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. An initial template was
developed by analysis of few interview transcripts. Coding procedures as outlined by

Stemler (2001) was used as a guide for the present analysis. A combination of a priori
codes and emergent codes was used in the coding process. Firstly, a template of a
priori codes or lines of enquiry were determined prior to detailed analysis. This list
was guided by the research questions and the assumption that these themes were
highly likely to be seen in the data. The researcher also went thru the transcripts to get
familiar with the data. Two qualified individuals in addition to the researcher agreed
on the categories.
The transcripts were coded according to the a priori codes. Where needed, the
existing codes were modified, and new codes were added and the researcher drew a
second list of emergent codes.
Data validation and analysis. Data triangulation was done to ensure and
enhance the validity and reliability of the analysis process and reduction of bias. The
transcripts were sent to two independent coders, and they were asked to independently
summarize and code each transcript keeping the lines of enquiry in mind. Each case
was summarized to understand the main themes in the interview, information related
to research questions and other significant information. The validators were qualified
psychologists with experience in qualitative research. Once the transcripts were
summarized the researcher consolidated the aspects that provided information
regarding each line of enquiry in a tabular format. This consolidated table was then
sent to both coders for their consensus analysis and coding of basic themes. In this
way, intercoder reliability was established.
The coders then compared their respective code lists with each other, and a
consensus was reached, and the researcher drew a consolidated list of codes. The code
list was refined and modified as appropriate. The reliability of the coding was checked
by ensuring consensus between the coders. A final list of codes and basic themes was
then drawn from these codes.
Generation of themes. Firstly, themes were identified by outlining
connections within and between participants and categories and codes. Cross-case
analysis was done, and the various categories of themes and the frequency of
occurrence of these themes were calculated. Cross case analyses involves analysis of
each case as a whole entity, followed by a comparison of analysis of all cases. It aids
in the identification of similarities and differences among cases and also helps to
understand relationships across cases (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Themes were used
to understand the data better and to get possible explanations and connections
between themes. The connections between themes were established, and global
themes were framed.
The data has been presented in the form of global themes and sub-themes.
Sub-themes that were linked were grouped to form global themes. Two global themes
that have emerged from the data are academic and career choices and factors
influencing career/ academic choices. The details of the themes and sub-themes are
given in Table 24.

Table 24
Themes and Sub-themes
Theme Sub-theme
Academic and Career choices Satisfaction with choice
Decision status
Decision-making as a process from

eigthth standard till 12th standard
Sources of information about careers
Career expectations
Factors influencing career choices Intrinsic factors
Extrinsic factors
Career related factors
Gender and career decisions
Theme 1: Career and Academic Choices

The theme of academic and career choices is discussed under the following sub-
themes.
Satisfaction with career decision. The presence or absence of satisfaction
with their choice was explored. 20 participants reported that they were satisfied with
their current academic/ career choice. Satisfaction/ dissatisfaction with choice was
seen to be dependent on other factors like level of personal interest, whether it was a
personal choice or forced choice. Some participants reported that they were not
satisfied with their current choice but had accepted the choice.
Decision Status. The decision status of the participants regarding their career/
academic choice was explored, and the categories that emerged were decision made,
decision not made, the presence of confusion and tentative decision made. The sub-
themes were decision made by personal choice, decision made against personal
choice, decision guided by practical constraints, decision about academic choices
made but indecision regarding career choice. Most participant’s (22) reported that
their decision was finalized, and they knew what their academic and career plans
were. Of the 22, 12 participants indicated that their choice was made based on their
personal preference while four participants reported of the choice being against their
personal preference and for six participant’s practical reasons guided their decision.
Force by parents and prejudice against occupations were some of the reasons which
had made participants make choices against their personal preference. Practical
reasons included financial constraints, gender-related issues, and prospective career
related factors. Seven participants acknowledged the presence of confusion while four
participants said that they had made a tentative decision. Only two participants were
undecided about their academic or career choice. Some of the participants reported
that they had decided about their academic choice but were still undecided about their
career plans at this point of time.
Decision-making as a process. Participants were asked to reflect on their
career related choices in their eighth standard, tenth standard, and the present. The
majority of the participants (23) reported that their choices had changed since the time
they were in the eighth standard. They expressed that parental influence was one of
the main reasons for them to modify their choice. Some participants said that increase
in knowledge about careers and increase in maturity level lead to the change. One
participant from a government college studying in the Arts stream reported that she
did not have enough knowledge when she was in high school and in PUC has learned
what the things she can do are. Similarly, a male participant from the commerce
stream reported that his initial choice of getting into civil services and a government
job changed to business with migration to the city and an increase in his maturity
level because of the exposure in the city.
Another participant explained like this
No, it has changed over a period of time. I can say it has changed from school
to tenth. In eighth when people asked what you want to do it was just an
answer. Like we would not think about it. But when it came to tenth grade we
had to make a clear choice...I did not have anything specific in my mind, but I
did not know I was going to take Commerce because it was Science.
Everybody was going to take up Science. That was actually my option. Then
in tenth grade, it changed to taking commerce as I felt that was a better choice.
(22PCF, Girl, private college, Commerce stream)
Changing decisions were also reported like this by participant 27PSF
No actually from high school till now many things have been changed. In my
mind, first I thought to become a CA, and later I thought to become a
Cardiologist, but now I have to become an Engineer so that it will be very
good and sufficient for my life. (Girl, private college, Science stream).
Sources of information. Several sources of information were identified by
participants like people, electronic sources, and books. Participants said that they were
given information regarding career and study options by other people. Family (21)
and friends (13) were the main sources of information as reported by the participants.
Within the family, participants identified father as the primary source followed by a
sibling and then mother. A male participant from a private college reported thus
“Obviously thru the internet and my dad because I mean, I rather don't prefer
counseling. Majority of the things I prefer asking my dad and then my brother and
sister. She has knowledge about the field, and she knows how I am, and that's what
affected me. (24PCM)”. Another participant reported that mainly her sister, cousins,
father, and father’s friends gave her a few options. She also reported of discussing
with friends and seniors in school.
Participants were also seen to be significantly influenced by their friends and
their attitudes and opinions. Electronic sources like internet and media were reported
only by a few (five) participants. Only four participants indicated that they received
their information from formal sources like career counseling. The minimal use of
sources like the internet and formal career guidance programs is to be noted. Figure 4
shows the various sources of information that participants received information
related to their career options.
Cousins/ T.V
Teachers
siblings
Sources of
Father People Media Internet
information
Mother Friends Books
Figure 4. Sources of information about career choices.

Career expectations. This sub-theme encapsulates the role of several aspects
of the various occupations that participants considered in the process of making their
career choice. Personal improvement, opportunities, social gains and financial aspects
were the aspects that emerged from the data.
Personal improvement, satisfaction, and independence. Personal growth was
one of the main considerations of participants when choosing a career as seen in the
data. Five participants said that they expect satisfaction from their career while six
students reported that they would value the freedom and independence that they
expect they will get from their career. This is reflected in the following statement by a
girl studying in the commerce stream in a government college “I should come up and
be independent and should not be dependent on anyone.” For another female
participant from a private college, satisfaction was very important as seen here:
“There has to be job satisfaction. I don't want to be very mechanical in doing my job.
I want to enjoy my work, but I also want to be financially independent.”
Four participants said that they would want their career to be something that
interests them and gives them a sense of growth and fulfillment.
Opportunities. Participants stated that they looked for opportunities for growth
(four), opportunities for migration abroad (four), opportunities for leadership (one)
and opportunities to increase their knowledge through new learning experiences. One
participant expressed his expectations in this way “I will look for a level, respect…I
should get correct opportunities, and it should be the right job for my education. We
should learn from the job. Our knowledge should increase. It should also help others.”
Social aspects. Almost half the sample (13 participants) reported that they
desired to gain respect from the society through their career as expressed by a
participant (14GSF) from a government college studying in the Science stream “I
need respect and trust. That much only. I don't expect money that much."
Participants also looked at their career as a means of increasing their status and
position in society. This statement by a female participant from a government college
(4GAF) illustrates this “If I have a government job I will be a responsible person and
people will respect me. That is why I feel government job will be ok.” Some careers
were considered more desirable and respectable than others. Parental support was also
seen to be higher for such choices. Recognition and popularity were also expected by
a participant (29PSM) from his career.
Financial aspects. This was one of the main themes elicited from the data. 24
participants said that they expected financial growth, independence and security from
a career and that the financial aspect was what they would look for when choosing a
career. Nine participants expressed that job security and stability was an important
factor for them. Participants reported that for their parents also this was a major
criterion in helping their children choose a career. Occupations that guaranteed
financial gains were the ones that were most preferred. Parents and participants also
looked at financial growth as a means of increasing their status and respect in society.
This finding is highlighted in the following statements by a student studying in
Commerce stream in a private college (25PCF)
I have decided. I want to get into the field of finance. My main motive is I
want to earn cash. I mean everyone's main motive is that. So because I have
taken Commerce, I am probably going to take BBM, business and then go into
Finance after that… Hmm. A good salary. A good position, a good
environment to work in and I want to work abroad. So that is one main thing.
Similar thoughts were expressed by a female student studying a government college
(5GAF).
Good salary, good name. Nothing else... For me, I will see if they will give a
salary that is enough for what is needed for me and my family. Then I will see
that and join if it is suitable for me.

Several aspects of career and academic choices emerged from the data.
Decision status of participants and change in decisions over time has been observed.
People were sources of information predominantly. Career expectations of
participants ranged from personal growth and satisfaction to financial stability. In the
next theme factors influencing career decisions in the present sample has been
highlighted.
Theme 2: Factors influencing career decisions

Several factors were seen to influence the choice making process of the
participants. They have been subdivided into themes internal factors, external factors,
and career-related factors. Figure 5 displays the factors influencing the career choices
of participants in this study.
• Personal choice
• Personal interest
Intrinsic factors
• Need to be different
• Personal freedom
• Scope
• Opportunities and Career related Career
growth factors choice
• Financial prospects
• Ease of choice
• Family
Extrinsic factors
• Society and gender
Figure 5. Factors influencing career decisions.

Internal factors. Some factors intrinsic to the individual were seen to
influence career choices that participants considered. The sub-themes that were
observed in the data were as follows.

Personal choice and personal interest. This was one of the major influencing
factors in an adolescent’s choice. 14 participants said that they had made their choice
considering their level of interest in that field and that their interest was the main
reason for making that choice. The following excerpt from an interview with
participant 16PAF supports this finding.
Mostly my interest I think. I always base things on what I like to do. Whatever
it is, even if it is movies, going out with friends and all that. If I am not
comfortable with something, I usually don't do it. So I think that is basically
what influenced me. It’s just my interest. (Girl, private college, Arts)
Six participants reported that they did not choose a mainstream profession or
the field of science due to lack of interest in that subject. Participants reported lack of
interest in Science subjects. This was expressed by a participant (23PCF) as follows:
Basically, I chose the commerce field because I wasn't interested in doing
Science. And also Arts. I felt I wasn't interested in History and rutting up for
the next two years. My mom is a CA so I thought it would be better to follow
her path. She has given me an insight into how CA is. So I am planning to do
CA as of now. (Girl, private college, Commerce)
Need to be different. The desire to be distinct from the norm or from their
family professions was one of the themes that emerged. Four participants did not want
to take the conventional route and choose occupations like engineering or follow
family professions like a business. The need to be different and independent guided
their choice. One female participant (18PAF) studying in Arts stream in a private
college said that in her family everyone is an engineer or a CA, so she chose Arts as
she wanted to do something different from them. Similar sentiments were expressed
by another participant (20PAF):
If you see in India half of them take science, science, science. I was like why
should we be there? Let me be in the part of the country where no one wants to
take up this. Not many of them want to take up this. They think only Science
is the thing. Any parents say oh you are in Science that is good; you will get a
good future. But no one knows. They are taking Science and half of them are
just lying at home doing nothing. So I was like let me do Arts or Commerce.
(Boy, private college, Science)
Personal freedom to make choices. Participants revealed that the freedom to
make choices aided and defined their choices. Some participants did not have the
freedom to make their career/ academic decisions. Students who had the freedom to
make their choices and students who perceived that parents and family would approve
their choices considered their freedom to make choices as an important factor in their
choice process. A girl studying in the Science stream in a government college
(11GSF) revealed that her parents have given her complete freedom to make a choice
and that she was very happy about the freedom to do what she wanted. She said that
this helped her make her choice. These thoughts were expressed by one participant
(21PCM):
I mean my dad does not force for anything. He just makes me understand. He
just gave a suggestion. You can do this. He is like if you don't know about this
field, I can let you know that you can do this. He has never forced me for
anything. He is like I will just advise you it’s your decision because it’s your
life. I can't force you for something you don't like, and then you end up not
doing that, and you don't like the work. So which you like do it. That's the best
thing for me, to do what I want. (Boy, private college, Commerce)
Career related factors. Participants’ decisions related to future career and
academic choices were also dependent on certain factors inherent to the vocation.
Perceived advantages and limitations that are a part of every vocation guided the
choice of the participants. Some of the factors identified were as follows.
Opportunities and growth. The future opportunities for growth and the scope
of the field was a major consideration for participants that pushed them towards or
against a choice. Occupations that are thought to give ample opportunities for
learning, travel abroad, and stability attracted more participants. For e.g. participant
9GCF stated that “I may get promotions. Even if I join for some simple work in Bank,
you can write exams and move forward. My future will be good…I can earn more
money. Life will be good.” (Girl, government College, Commerce). Participant
29PSM, a boy, studying in a private college in the Science stream said that he opted
for this stream because of the various options that will be open to him like medical or
engineering in addition to others.
Participant 16PAF expressed what she expected like this:
Firstly I want it to be something I really like. After few years I don't want to be
bored of it. That's why I chose Foreign Service because you get posted in
different places. I don't have to stay in the same place for more than 2-3 years.
I am very comfortable shifting places. I am not a very homely person. I can't
stay in one place for long. Then I want to meet new people, make new friends,
and get to know about other cultures and learn new things. (Girl, private
college, Arts)
Financial prospects. The financial opportunities that a profession offers was a
prominent influencing factor. The better the financial security and prospects were, the
more participants considered it as an occupational choice. Family and societal
approval and support were linked to financial prospects of a career or vocation. The
following statements by participant 19PAM illustrates these observations
I think what one person looks at when he picks a job is I guess likability and
the amount of money one is getting. All my life I have heard that lawyers get
pretty good money and debate and discussion is something I have always
enjoyed. So law was pretty much a straight forward option for me to earn
money. (Boy, private college, Arts)
Ease of choice. Ten participants made their choice based on the ease of the
profession and academic performance in comparison with other options. For e.g. five
participants reported that they did not choose Science subjects because of the
difficulty level in that subject. According to participant 4GAF:
I used to find Maths very tough. For Commerce also I would find maths tough.
In Science also there is Maths. So thinking it would be a mistake and difficult
I took up Arts. My favourite subject is History. So I thought if I take up Arts it
will be easy and I will have some general knowledge. (Girl, government
college, Arts)
Four participants from government colleges also reported of difficulty with the
English language because of which they did not choose Science related fields. As
stated by participant 8GCF “I wanted to take up Science, but because it’s fully in
English, so I chose Commerce.” (Girl, government college, Commerce). Participants
reported these practical difficulties during the interview.

Prestige and respect. The prestige factor was seen to influence the process of
career decision-making of participants in the present study. The higher the prestige
associated with a particular occupation, the more participants favoured that vocational
choice. Occupations associated with Science stream were preferred due to the high
prestige associated with them while professions associated with Arts stream had low
prestige associated with it. The prestige associated with the career or academic choice
was also seen as a means to gain respect from people and society.
Participant 29PSM said:
I belong to a very poor family. My grandfather was a farmer, and both my
uncles are farmers, but somehow my father has studied and brought me here.
In my village doctors and engineers are respected more, so my father wants
me to be an engineer…But if I go to my village it's like if you are an engineer,
you will be respected. If you are a doctor, you will be respected. So my
parents think like that only. Like you have to be a doctor or engineer to be
respected in our village. So they want me to be an engineer and my sisters to
be doctors.” (Boy, private college, science)
Similarly, participant 30PSM expressed the following views:
See in society we will see a lot of things like he is Arts guy, he is Commerce
guy. But if you tell Oh Science guy then bit of respect to the science guy. But
Arts, Commerce is casual…Arts is the lowest level; Commerce is the middle
and Science is the best level for everything…Even friends will be like 'What
have you taken up? Commerce? Ok Fine! Arts? Oh...; Science...Then Wow.
This is what they will do.”(Boy, private college, science)

External factors. Factors external to the individual also played a major role in
the decision making of the participants. The main sub-themes are family and social
factors.
Family. The family was seen to be a major influencing factor in the career
decision-making of participants. Under this theme, the following sub-themes emerged
family influence, key people in the family, guidance and support, family financial
conditions, family attitude, family communication and parental expectations.
Family influence. The interviews demonstrated that all participants
acknowledged the presence of influence of family in their decision. Two sub-themes
that emerged were the positive and negative influence of the family. As a positive
influence, the family was seen as supportive. Such participants also revealed that they
had the personal freedom to make choices, and there was open communication in the
family. 11 participants reported family as having an inhibitive influence on their plans
for their career. They reported of lack of support from family members for personal
choices and lack of open communication in the family.
Influence of key people. People were seen to be a key influence on career
choices of participants. 15 participants acknowledged the presence of a role model
while the rest communicated that they do not consider anyone as a role model in their
life. Parents and siblings were seen to be most commonly reported role models, and
participants looked up to them for inspiration and aspired to be like them. These
family members were also identified by participants as sources of information about
future academic and career choices as illustrated in these excerpts.

Participant 18PAF said like this:
I was inspired by my sister. She is a very successful person…She is a very
successful journalist. She worked for NDTV 24X7, and she has had world
tours and everything so I was inspired by her, and that's why I want to take
journalism (Girl, private college, Arts).
Participant 24PCM expressed the prominent role of his father like this:
No, my dad is my role model majorly for me. If I want to share something
regarding my personal things, then it’s my sister. I prefer talking freely to my
sister rather than my dad. But when it is about decision making I prefer my
dad over my sister (Boy, private college, commerce).
Guidance and support for academic and career-related choices. Presence or
absence of guidance and support from the family was a strong theme that emerged
from the data. Participants looked for support from their immediate family for their
choice. Participants who had their family’s support for their choice were seen to be
more satisfied with their choice than those who did not have support from family.
Family support was seen to be higher for mainstream occupations like medicine and
engineering. Family support could be direct in terms of financial and practical aid, to
help research about careers, or in the form of encouragement and guidance. This is
reflected in the statements by participant 16PAF who said:
It was actually my choice because I told my family. I told my family, basically
my grandfather as he knows more about things. We all sat down, and I was
telling them what I like, and he said this the stuff you do with what you like...
In terms of influence, I can't say. More like they supported me in my choice
(Girl, private college, Arts).

Some participants reported that their families gave them complete freedom of
choice but were unable to provide material support due to their constraints as seen
here.
Family? Yes, my parents did say that I was free to choose whatever…they just
told me what they think and did let me decide or choose... They told me that if
you are going into medical, you should get good marks. It should be really
good because we are not going to pay so much (Boy, private college, Science).
Lack of support for personal choices of their child led in many cases to a child
making forced choices thus decreasing satisfaction with the choice. The absence of
family support may result in ineffective career development. The disturbance in the
family due to non-agreement between parents and children is illustrated in the
following excerpt by participant 18PAF:
My parents wanted me to take Science. Just because all my other cousins are
doing CA and Engineering, they wanted me also to do. I fought with them. We
had a very big quarrel in the house, and I still took Arts because I wanted to do
Journalism... They are against it, so they don't interfere anymore. They were
totally against it last year itself. I fought, and I took it right. Now if you did not
listen to us why do you want us to think for you? Meaning like why do you
want us to plan for you. They do not support me (Girl, private college, Arts).
The financial condition of the family. Financial aspects of the family was a
strong theme that emerged from the data in the present study. Financial aspects guide
the decision making and support from the family. Students from government college
background and those coming from lower socio economic status and lower-middle
socio economic status had more financial constraints than students from private
colleges and upper socio economic status family backgrounds. Many students
revealed that financial circumstances in the family had forced them to make certain
choices. For e.g. a girl studying in commerce stream in a government college (9GCF)
expressed that her parents asked her to take up Commerce instead of Science as they
felt that financial problems may lead to discontinuation of her studies in Science as it
costs more.
Participant 28PSM’s statements illustrates the influence of financial condition
of his family on his career choice
From my childhood, I was like wanting to be a pilot but to be a pilot of civil or
the general thing we have to spend a lot of money for studies which we cannot
afford. But to join the air force, it is not too expensive. My father can afford it.
So I thought it’s good (Boy, private College, Science)
On the other hand, students coming from a background of financial stability
did not have these constraints. They had the financial backing to take up study options
of their choice and also did not have financial responsibilities towards their families.
This has put them in an advantageous position to pursue options of their choice. A
student from a private college studying in Commerce stream expressed her plans to go
abroad for her post graduate studies and also spoke of her parent's support and
encouragement. Children were also seen to consider career options within a range
which is accessible to them and acceptable to their social position and affordability
Family attitude. In the current study, the participants’ statements revealed the
presence of specific attitudes personally, and of their families for certain occupations.
Occupational stereotypes were seen to influence the attitude of family members.
Some occupations were considered more desirable than others. This is because of the
prestige associated with these occupations. Participants revealed that their family's
attitude influenced their choices. Parents had a more favourable attitude towards fields
of Science and a negative attitude towards Arts streams. They preferred medical and
engineering streams. Nine participants were forced to make these choices by their
parents and family. Some families were against their children making non-mainstream
career choices and showed no support for their children’s choices. This is illustrated
in the following excerpts from interviews with participants 12GSF and 30PSM.
I wanted to take commerce in school. I liked commerce very much. I was
always weak in Science. But in the house they made me take Science. I do not
like Science even now. My family says study science. It will be useful later
on. So I am continuing in Science…Many relatives have taken science and
become engineers and doctors. No one has taken commerce. Only my sister
has taken commerce. So because everyone has taken Science, they told you
also take Science and got me Science (12 GSF, girl, government college,
Science).
Initially, I wanted to take Arts and go for law. But due to family pressure, I
came to science….So he thinks that MBA is not good. Ah actually I was
thinking that I would like to become a lawyer, but due to family you know,
they will have pressure on us to join Science instead of joining for Arts or
Commerce because it doesn't have scope... I won’t be happy with this. But I
have to listen to parents because they have brought me up these 18, 17 years,
and if I don’t listen to them there will be suddenly a lot of controversies
around (30PSM, boy, private college, Science).
Family communication patterns. Two main kinds of family communication
were seen to be present in families as reported by participants – Open communication

(16 participants) and closed communication patterns (13 participants). In families with
open communication, there was the presence of discussion and clear communication
patterns. They had discussed career plans with family members and arrived at a
decision or plan. Participant 5GAF reported that she had discussed her views with her
mother and brother and sought their opinion on what she should do. Such participants
were more satisfied with their decision. As stated by participant 19PAM studying in
Arts stream in a private college,
Ya, I have discussed, and I have had this discussion mainly with my mother
because I live with my mother. She said you know, do your research, write it
all down. If it’s possible sure, we will send you to it. If it’s not possible then,
we will try something else. So I accepted that as it makes perfect sense.
In families with closed communication channels, the participants reported
either lack of communication regarding career options and choices or reported a lack
of clear communication. Some participants (five) reported the presence of directive
one-way communication from their family where parents refused to have any
discussion regarding this issue and made the decision for their child. As expressed by
participant 29PSM, “No we have not discussed at all. He just told me I am working
hard for you. You just have to be a civil engineer. So you have to serve me when I am
old that kind of thing.” This is also reflected in this excerpt from an interview with
participant 26PSF who is a girl studying in a private college in the science stream.
I think I should go along with my parents because every time I try to bring up
the topic they just say like don't tell me anything now. We already have
enough of problems. I don't want to talk about this. They just say let’s see after
your II PUC…..I heard of these different kind of occupations from my friends
because my parents limit everything to engineering or medical. I heard about

hotel management, journalism and many things from my friends which seem
pretty interesting but if I ever try talking to my parents, it’s a no. If they
actually listen to what I want to say, maybe I could change what I am going to
do after II PUC.
Parental academic and career expectations. In analyzing the data associated
with the influence of parents, parental expectations was one of the consistent aspects
that were raised. The key expectations that parents had from their children’s careers
were that their careers should give them financial stability, job security and help them
settle in life. Similar expectations were expressed by the participants about their
career. Though there was a congruence in most cases about general expectations from
a career between parents and children, there was a difference between the two on the
choice of career for many participants. Their attitude towards occupations guided
parental expectations. Participant 12GSF’s statement reveals the expectations of her
parents regarding her career as follows “My parents want that I should study well and
get a good job…Something that I want to do and like. It should give a good salary to
me so that I can stand on my own feet.”
Influence of society. Societal rules, norms, and attitudes were seen to
influence career decisions of students in the study. The most prominent influence
participants reported was the attitude of people in their society regarding occupations.
Some of the occupations were associated with high levels of approval while a
prejudice against certain occupations and streams of study were reported. This can be
seen in the following narratives from the interviews with the participants. Participant
27PSF said “Ya society obviously. They tell like we have to give more importance to
Engineering than going to medical. It’s a very big headache, so I chose to do
Engineering.” Other participants expressed their views like this:

Society in a way because once you become a CA, the respect that you have is
more than a Bcom. The aspect of respect from the society has influenced me in
that way in taking up CA and going abroad and studying. The response from
the society to whatever I have achieved and done in that way ya. (23PCF, girl,
private college, Commerce)
I think society made me want to work harder towards my goal because a lot of
people even my housemaid told me why did you take up Arts, why didn't you
take up Science? How does it matter to her what I took up? So then I think
that's a really important factor. That interests me a lot. These people tell me
that Arts is not really that much important or you know by doing international
relations what are you going to do. You will be posted in another country but
how is it going to help us? That sort of thing. Maybe I just want to show them
that I can do this and I will still make a name for myself with this kind of
achievement. (16PAF, girl, private college, Arts).
Influence of gender on career decisions. 13 participants reported that there
was a difference in their family’s attitude and 12 participants indicated that there was
a difference in their personal attitude regarding views about careers for girls and boys
while others did not report differences in their outlook. Participants who did not feel
any difference in choices based on gender expressed the view that in today’s scenario
both boys and girls have equal opportunities and roles. This is reflected in these
statements by participant 13GSM who said that “If I was a girl also I would have
chosen this path. There is no difference. Everyone can do everything. Now girls are
doing more jobs than boys. They go to work, earn money. Boys also do the same
work.”
Some participants revealed that though their family encouraged girls to work
there were more restrictions about the kind of occupations in comparison to boys.
Further, expectations from careers were more for boys than girls. Differences in
attitude based on gender can be seen in these statements by participants:
Difficult yes. My family allowing me to do the course because I am from a
Muslim background, and they are very orthodox. My whole family is orthodox
even my parents…to be honest, my family does not know I want to do Sports
at all. They are orthodox, but they give importance to education but not a
career as such. Because usually in Muslim families all do not work.
So….Again since it’s a Muslim family, women don't really work. So I highly
doubt if they will let me, I mean they will allow me to work but not like I said
I like outdoors. (17PAF, girl, private college, Arts).
Yes, it has. My parents think being a male child, you should not get into small
jobs. I should not get into teaching profession or something like that because
they have expectations and being a male child they say that you should either
get into engineering, medical or mainstream fields like that and not into some
low known professions like that... I think it’s just the mentality of the people
around because they think being the male after I am an adult I think many
people would depend on me so the financials, the budget and all would be
really the main thing there. I would be the one supporting them...If I was a girl,
it would definitely be different, but I don't think my thoughts would change. I
think my parents mainly would have less expectations primarily due to the
culture. They have less expectations from girls (28PSM, boy, private college,
Science).
These were some of the relationships that were observed in the data. The
results of the second phase of the study brought out the perceived role of individual
factors, career related factors and family and social factors in the career choice
making of the participants. It also highlighted some aspects related to career decision
making.
Summary of Findings
The study aimed to understand the psychosocial factors associated with career
decision making of adolescents. The quantitative phase highlighted the associations
between career maturity and individual factors like personality and gender, and
contextual factors like socio-economic status, type of college, and parenting style. The
results of the qualitative phase expanded the findings of the quantitative study by
highlighting the role of family and social factors, individual factors like personal
interest and career related factors that influence career choices of adolescents.
Together these results provide an understanding of the varied aspects of and factors
influencing career decisions in adolescents. The need for a comprehensive
understanding of the multiple factors that influence one of the most important
decisions in an individual’s life has also been highlighted in literature. The results
have been discussed in the next chapter.

Discussion
The main objectives of this research were to explore the internal and external
factors influencing career maturity and career decision-making in adolescents. The
objectives were formulated keeping in mind the need for research related to career
development that is relevant to the Indian context. A mixed method design was used,
and data was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. This chapter will provide an
interpretation and discussion of the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the
collected data. The relevance of the results of the present study and its relationship to
existing research will be discussed.
This chapter has been organized into three parts. In the first part, the
quantitative findings are discussed while in the second part the qualitative findings are
discussed. The third part focusses on the integration of qualitative and quantitative
findings. The results of this study reveal that both personal and extrinsic factors play a
role in the career maturity and career decision-making of adolescents in this
population.
Discussion of Quantitative Research Findings
The relationship of personality traits, metacognition and perceived parenting
style with career maturity was explored. In addition, career maturity and its
relationship with socio-economic status, gender, stream of study, decision status, and
type of college were also investigated. The results are discussed below. Career
maturity was assessed using the Career Maturity Inventory. Career maturity attitude
and five areas of competency self-appraisal, occupational information, goal selection,
planning and problem solving were studied.

Career maturity and personality. The relationship of big five personality
traits with career maturity was explored. The significant negative correlation between
neuroticism and career maturity attitude could be suggestive of the fact that a
tendency to experience worry and anxiety may lead to lower ability to cope with
developmental demands relating to career decision making and lead to less mature
attitudes related to career choices. Individuals high on neuroticism are known to be
anxious and vulnerable which may result in difficulties in decision making (Martincin
& Stead, 2015). Similar findings have been reported by Lounsbury et al. (1999).
Individuals high on neuroticism were also high on planning. This can be explained by
the fact that such individuals may plan extensively to make sure that they are taking
the right decisions.
The positive association between conscientiousness and attitude component of
career maturity can be explained by the fact that individuals with attributes of
orderliness, self- discipline, deliberation, and competence which are a part of
conscientiousness are more likely to have higher career maturity and be disciplined
about their career decision making. These results are in line with results reported by
Chen and Liew (2015). However extreme rigidity and a tendency to make perfect
choices may lead to some career decision-making difficulties. This was reported in the
results of a meta- analysis of 21 studies by Martincin and Stead (2015). Individuals
who are high on openness were seen to have more mature attitudes about career
decision making and were high on self-appraisal in this study. Such participants may
be more aware of personal abilities and may have more realistic expectations from
careers.
Agreeableness and extraversion were not seen to have a significant correlation
with any component of career maturity. This was also reported by Hartman (2006)
who found no association between agreeableness and career self-efficacy and Chen
and Liew (2015) who reported no significant association between agreeableness and
career decision-making difficulties.
These findings bring out the role of personality factors in career decision
making. Awareness of the clinician about the relationship between personality and
career decision making can help make the outcome of the counseling more effective.
The contribution of the individual’s personality factors which may enhance or hinder
effective choices may assist in resolving difficulties in the career decision-making
process. However the small to moderate magnitude of the relationships needs to be
kept in mind and warrants further research in this area.
Career maturity and metacognition. Research in the area of the relationship
of metacognition with other phenomena has till now been limited to aspects of
teaching and learning. This study attempted to explore if there was a relationship
between metacognition and career maturity. No significant association was seen
between career maturity and metacognition. The present results are contrary to
previous research where metacognition was found to be positively related to career
decidedness (Symes & Stewart, 1999; Kosine et al., 2008). However, research on the
relationship between metacognition and career decision making is limited and
inconsistent.
Several theories of career decision making and career development include the
role of metacognitive aspects, and the results of this study propose the need to explore
this relationship further. It also brings up the question if metacognition is a general
skill or a domain specific skill as metacognition has been conceptualized as a
multidimensional general set of skills (Schraw, 1998). The need to assess

metacognition as a general skill rather than a domain specific skill and the need to
relate metacognition to various activities involving cognitive components like
decision making has been stressed by Veenman, Van- Hout – Walters, and Afflerbach
(2006). The research till date remains inconclusive.
Results of this study suggest that may be some aspects of metacognition is
domain specific and may need tools tailored to assess the role of metacognition for
specific domains. Difficulties in the assessment of metacognition have also been
highlighted in literature as metacognition is not directly observable, and existing
measures have a narrow focus (Lai, 2011). Hence the present results could have been
influenced by this factor.
Career decision making and parenting style. Tables 11 and 12 show the
relationship between career maturity and parenting styles. The results imply that
parenting style is associated with the level of career maturity and also suggests the
influence of family in the career decision-making process. This is further explored in
the qualitative study. The results bring out the facilitative role of authoritative
parenting and the inhibitive role of authoritarian parenting in career decision making.
Studies in the western context have shown parenting style to be associated with
aspects of career maturity and career decision-making. Indian society is considered to
be collectivist in nature as compared to the individualistic focus of western cultures.
An insight into how parent-child interactions, child rearing practices, and parenting
styles affect career decision making in Indian adolescents can aid career counselors
and lead to a better understanding of the career decision-making process.
Perceived parenting style was assessed in this study as in the Indian context
parents have a significant role in making educational and career plans of children. In
this study the more authoritarian the parents were, the lower was the career maturity
in these aspects. This can be understood in terms of autonomy that the children have
in such a family set up. Lower self-knowledge and difficulty in differentiation
between personal and parental goals in such a context was reported by Kerka (2000).
Way and Rossman (as cited in Kerka, 2000) also highlighted the presence of a poor fit
between the individual and his final choice of career because children with
authoritarian parents may take career decisions based on pressure to conform to
parental choices. Authoritarian parenting style was hypothesized to be positively
associated with career decision-making self- efficacy in collectivist societies (Wu,
2009). However, in this study, authoritarian parenting style was seen to have a
negative relationship with career maturity. This is supported by findings from a study
by Koumoundourou et al. (2011) who found that children whose parents exercised
strict control over their behaviour had more career decision-making difficulties. Even
in the results of the qualitative study participants whose parents had not discussed
career choices with them and who had made choices because of parents’ force were
not happy with their decisions.
Authoritative parenting style is known to increase career exploration (Kracke
1997 as cited in Kerka, 2000). The results of the present study show that authoritative
parenting style is facilitative for increasing career maturity in adolescents. This
positive effect could be due to the atmosphere of warmth, clear standards and
independence in the family which enables effective exploration and decision making.
Permissive parenting style was not significantly related to career maturity.
This is contradictory to findings that state that permissive parenting style negatively
affected the career decision-making process (Koumoundourou et al., 2011). However,
similar findings were reported by Chen and Liew (2015) where they failed to find a
significant relationship between permissive parenting style and career decision-
making difficulties.
It is suggested that guidance counselors devise counseling programs that will
advocate collaboration with parents in guiding their respective children towards
building a healthy career developmental path. Parents who adopt an authoritarian
parenting style may be sensitized about the same and work can be done to improve
communication channels between the adolescent and parent to facilitate effective
choice making. Similarly, permissive parents can be counseled regarding the need for
involvement from their side in this aspect of their child’s life. Parents can be given
tips on incorporating aspects of authoritative parenting in their interactions with their
children.
Gender and career decision making. In the present study gender differences
were seen in some aspects of career maturity while both male and female participants
were found to be comparable on others. Gender differences may be attributed to
gender role socialization from childhood which is seen to influence educational and
career choices by narrowing the range of opportunities based on gender (McMohan &
Patton as cited in Clutter, 2010; Adya & Kaiser 2005). It can lay the foundation for an
individual’s perceptions of career options. Every society has its perceptions about
careers for its male and female members. Traditional Indian societal structure was
rigid, with male children being groomed for work outside the home while the female
children were trained to take up household responsibilities. However, with changing
times, this rigid differentiation of roles is reducing, and women have made a foray
into occupations traditionally considered a male area. This shift is evident in the
present results where female participants had higher scores in some aspects of career
maturity. Gender roles in India have been changing especially in the urban middle-
class population (Natarajan, 2010). Both male and female children are treated
similarly by a majority of parents, and many women have been successful in many
professions. This may be the reason why male and female participants had similar
attitudes towards career decisions. Gender differences were absent in their sample as
reported by Bakshi et al. (2012).
Socio-economic status and career decision making. Socio-economic status
of the family determines educational opportunities, parental support, and parental
aspirations. In the present study career maturity attitude, competence and career
aspirations differed between participants belonging to different socio-economic
classes. Students from higher socio-economic backgrounds showed greater career
maturity than students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. These findings are in
keeping with previous literature (Arulmani & Nag-Arulmani, 2006; Ferry, 2006) that
indicates the role of socio-economic status in career decision making.
This could be due to wider exposure to career-related information available to
students from higher socio-economic backgrounds. Awareness and opportunities
available may be higher for such students. The family atmosphere may also influence
the process of career choice. Similar thoughts have been expressed by Soresi, Nota,
Ferrari, and Ginevra (2014). They propose that students from higher socio economic
status backgrounds may have greater avenues for professional development and social
contacts which may help directly or indirectly. Parents from lower socio economic
status families may also struggle with providing guidance regarding career
development to their children, and such students may also have low exposure to
effective role models whom they can look up to resulting in lower career maturity.
Socio- economic status and social class also influence the values and
expectations of parents which may then be passed on to the children. Therefore socio-
economic status can influence both tangible aspects like finances, quality of schools
and non-tangible aspects like attitudes about occupations (Clutter, 2010). Parents of
adolescents from higher socio-economic backgrounds are seen to have higher
aspirations and offer more support for educational and occupational goals of their
children (Bandura et al., 2001). These findings also provide support to social
cognitive career theory which advocates that financial constraints in the family can
limit opportunities and experiences.
Career aspirations also differed between participants belonging to different
socio-economic classes in this study. Participants from upper middle and upper
classes had higher career aspirations and expressed plans to pursue post-graduate
education. Most participants from lower middle and lower socio economic status
planned to start working immediately after undergraduate studies. This could be due
to the financial need in the family and the necessity for the children to become
financially independent as early as possible and contribute to the family income.
These findings are in keeping with previous literature (Arulmani & Nag Arulmani,
2006; Ferry, 2006) that indicates the role of socio-economic status in career decision
making. Arulmani & Nag-Arulmani (2006) found that perceived career barriers to
career preparation were highest in lower socioeconomic status groups and lowest in
upper-middle-class groups. Students’ career expectations and aspirations were also
influenced by the prestige level of their parents’ occupation. Social class also
influences the career options available to individuals which along with personality and
developmental experiences, in turn, influences career choices (Metheny, 2009).
College type, stream of study. Career maturity was found to be significantly
higher in students from private colleges in comparison with students from government
colleges on all aspects of career maturity. Similar findings were reported by Dhillon
and Kaur (2005), Sivakumar and Sridhar (2016), and Sirohi (2013) whose research
indicates that private school students have higher career maturity when compared to
government school students. The environment in private colleges may be more
conducive for development of skills and competencies that help in increasing career
maturity. The activities conducted and the programs that students are exposed to in
private colleges may help shape their attitude towards careers and academics which
may be reflected in their career maturity scores. On the other hand, government
colleges may not be having a similar atmosphere. Further students from government
colleges may be coming from financially less privileged families which may limit
their exposure and access to information and opportunities suggesting a need to
increase exposure to government college students. This also brings out the need to
tailor separate career guidance programs specifically for students studying in
government schools and private schools. This can help increase career maturity to
facilitate better career decision-making.
The results reveal that largely there was no difference in most aspects of career
maturity between students studying in Arts, Science and Commerce streams. There is
a tendency in our society to give preference to science stream related options in
comparison to Arts. It is believed that students in the Science stream are more capable
than students in the Arts stream. This stereotype was also expressed by the
participants in the second phase of this study. However, the results of this analysis do
not reveal significant differences with respect to career maturity. These results are
contrary to the findings of Dahiya (2014) who found career maturity to vary between
the streams and Science students to have higher career maturity than students from
other streams. Measures can be taken to sensitize parents to reconsider stereotypes

that are present to aid children to choose streams and careers based on personal
interest and ability.
Decision status and career maturity. In the present study decided and
undecided participants differed significantly on attitude and competence aspects of
career maturity. Students who were decided were seen to have higher levels of career
maturity. Indecisiveness regarding career plans is considered as a normal
developmental stage. 51% of the participants in the present study reported that they
had not yet decided on their career choice. Similar findings were also reported in a
study conducted by Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs (2014) where 64% of the
research sample had not made a career choice and where a majority of them who had
made a choice had not investigated the same. Students also reported about worry
regarding their indecision. However, this may lead to ineffective decision making and
missed opportunities (Landine, 2013). Career indecision if not resolved appropriately
can lead to sub-optimal career planning and development which has long term effects
on the individual’s life. Hence vocational interventions need to focus on increasing
career maturity and career decidedness of the adolescents to aid effective career
development.
The results of the regression analyses showed poor to average predictability of
variance in career maturity attitude and competence. The exact relationship between
these combinations of predictor variables with career maturity is not explored in
literature. Personality, parenting style, gender, socio-economic status, decision status
and metacognition have been studied individually or in combination with other
variables in relation to career maturity and other aspects of career decision making.
The results reveal that these variables do influence career maturity to some degree
while other variables not included in this research may also be influencing the same.
The results can impact change by encouraging further research to understand the role
of these above factors in career maturity. The unexplained variability in this phase can
be explained partially by the results of qualitative part of this research. Most studies
have explored combinations of factors influencing career development (Arulmani &
Nag- Arulmani, 2006; Bullock-Yowell et al., 2011; Creed & Patton, 2003; Datu,
2012; Ferry, 2006; Hasan, 2006). They have concluded that various combinations of
factors are associated with career maturity at different levels. They advocate future
research to explore other possible combinations of variables that influence career
development.
Discussion of Qualitative Research Findings
30 participants participated in a semi-structured interview designed to explore
career choices and factors influencing the same in adolescents. An in- depth analysis
of the data revealed two global themes from the data. They are academic and career
choices and factors influencing career choices. The global themes and sub-themes are
discussed below.
Theme 1: Career and Academic Choices

Different aspects related to career and academic choices emerged from the
data. The theme of academic and career choices are discussed under the sub-themes
satisfaction with career choice, decision status, decision making as a process from
eighth standard, tenth standard to 12th standard, sources of information about careers
and career expectations.
Satisfaction with career choice was seen to be dependent on other factors like
the influence of family, practical constraints and personal factors. The key career task
in adolescence according to Super’s developmental theory is exploration and tentative
decision making. Career decidedness and indecision have been studied extensively in
literature. (Lounsbury et al., 2005; Lounsbury et al., 1999). Most participants in this
phase reported of having reached a final or tentative decision regarding their
academic/ career choice. This shows that they are in the expected stage of exploration.
Tentative decisions and ideas about career are known to start in early
adolescence. Decisions regarding career choices of participants were seen to have
changed with decisions becoming more definite in twelfth standard than they were in
tenth standard and eighth standard. Participants attributed this to increase in maturity
level and knowledge. This can be explained by the concept of vocational self-concept
crystallization. The older individuals get, the higher was their autonomy and
vocational maturity. Vocational self- concept crystallization refers to the extent to
which an individual has an idea about interests, abilities, traits and attitudes and it is
known to increase with age (Landine, 2013). This was also reported by Arulmani and
Nag-Arulmani (2006) who found that in their sample career awareness levels were
higher in 12th standard students in comparison to 10th standard students though scores
were lower than desirable for both age groups. Similarly, decisions were found to be
not stable in a mixed method study conducted by Bakshi et al. (2012). They found
that in their sample consisting of youth from Mumbai 38.5% had changed their
decision at least once.
Theories like Cognitive Information Processing theory indicate the importance
of self and occupational knowledge in decision making. Career exploration which
involves active seeking of information about vocational choices is essential to
developing career maturity and making the right choices. In the present study
participants were asked about sources of information they had to help decision
making. The results revealed that students tend to make choices based on information
from one or two sources and may not indulge in an active process of information
seeking related to potential educational and career choices. The main sources of
information as seen were family members. Lack of adequate information increases
career decision-making difficulties while correct and adequate exposure and
awareness increases the possibility of informed and optimal career choices (Joseph,
2012). Only a few participants reported the use of media to gain information and aid
them in the process of career decision making. This finding needs to be understood in
the context in which the participants come from. In this age where technology has
made an entry into every aspect of a person’s life, it is surprising that majority of the
participants did not use technology to aid them in the process of career decision
making. This finding can be used to encourage appropriate use of technology to
facilitate awareness building about career options. Surprisingly even in a developed
country like UK students reported minimal use of internet and formal sources like
career counselling (4%) to gain information regarding occupational choices. 76% of
students indicated that parental advice was influential in their decision making
(Millward et al., 2006). These findings are also contrary to research which states that
television is one of the main sources of information in the career choice process
(Sharma, 2015). These results also suggest the need for provision of adequate career
information to adolescents. This has also been suggested by Julien (1999) who
highlighted the lack of knowledge about sources of information and careers in the
participants of their study.
A career is looked upon as a means to fulfill a person’s material and
psychological needs. The expectations a person has from his/her career will influence
the choices that he makes. Hence in the present study, this was explored. Financial
gain and financial security were the main expectations that participants had from their
career. The expectation was that a career should help them look after personal and
family financial needs. Careers that did not have financial growth opportunities were
not preferred by participants as well as their parents. Job security and work
satisfaction were the other expectations that participants had from their careers. This
can be seen as a valid point for consideration as the primary purpose of having a
career is to earn a livelihood and support oneself and one’s family. In a similar a study
conducted by the P.Hd Research Bureau (2014) on youth in India, they found that
participants preferred jobs that gave them security, financial stability, and growth
opportunities. These findings are also reflected in the results of a study by Koech et al.
(2016) who found that career choices were influenced by career benefit factors like
economic growth and stability, job opportunities, growth opportunities, and job
satisfaction. Differences in expectations from careers were also reported by Millward
et al. (2006) where boys placed more importance on financial aspects of a prospective
job while girls reported considering the balance a job will allow between family and
work. 72% of the sample expressed that pay was an important consideration when
choosing a job and financial security was a major expectation that people had from
their careers.
Awareness about these aspects of career choices may help career counselors
be more sensitive and make the career counseling process individualized and more
effective.
Theme 2: Factors influencing career decisions

Several factors were seen to influence career choice making in the present
study. The sub-themes were internal factors, career related factors and external
factors. The sub-themes are discussed below.
Internal factors. Factors intrinsic to the individual were found to influence
career choices. Personal interest was one of the main factors. Choices made on the
basis of personal interest may lead to better satisfaction and productivity. The
importance of the personal interest in one’s career has also been stressed by Anojan &
Nimalathasan (2013). Many participants expressed that their personal interest and
personal factors were an important factor in their career decision making. It indicates
the presence of awareness about self and occupational knowledge. This finding is also
supported by literature that states that the role of self as one of the factors rated
highest in career choice decisions by youth in Mumbai (Bakshi et al., 2012) and also
in a study by Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs (2014) where the most common reason
for a choice was personal interest. This suggests a change in the society where caste
based occupation selection was the traditional norm. Identity formation is one of the
key developmental tasks of adolescence. The need to be different and value placed on
personal freedom by some participants can be explained in the background of this
developmental period. Some of the other personal factors that emerged from the data
were liking, aptitude or lack of aptitude for a subject or field and future prospects.
Career related factors. The opportunities for growth, stability and ease
associated with a profession were considered by participants when evaluating a future
career. Careers with higher scope, opportunities, growth and ease were preferred.
However, financial prospects were a big determinant. This is in line with findings
reported by Agarwala (2008) and the results of the Youth Economic survey (Ph.D.
Research Bureau, 2014). It also reflects the findings of a study by Koech et al. (2016)
who found the influence of career related factors like opportunities for growth,
financial stability, and job satisfaction to be significant and higher than the influence
of family and peers.
The belief that being in a certain desirable profession will increase their status
and respect in society was expressed by the participants in the interviews. This
influenced their future choice. The interest for or against a certain profession is guided
by the attribution of prestige and respect to that occupation. Occupations are often
more preferred or less preferred based on their position in a hierarchy of prestige.
These beliefs and attitudes influence societal, personal and family attitudes which in
turn influences the person’s inclination towards or against a profession. In the current
study, this has been a strong theme that was observed. It was seen more in students
from private colleges who mostly belonged to middle and upper socio-economic
class. The prestige associated with occupations like engineering and medicine leads to
many families’ pressurizing their children to choose these occupations at times even
against their choice without taking into consideration their personal interest and
aptitude. The presence of bias against professions associated with occupations
associated with Arts streams was also seen. Parents did not desire their children to
choose Arts stream as they believed that this choice had restricted scope and future
opportunities. This was also reported by Arulmani and Nag-Arulmani (2006). In a list
that they had made, doctors and engineers were on the top while blue collar
occupations were seen to be in the bottom of the list. Parental approval was also
highest for medicine and engineering and lower for vocational occupations and blue
collar vocations. Regarding the choice of stream, science was the most preferred
while Arts was preferred the least. They also found that students from middle and
upper middle socio economic status were influenced more by factors of prestige and
approval by parents. This has also been reported by Simmons (2008) where
participants reported the presence of stereotypes attached to careers that are not
perceived to be mainstream and financially lucrative. The role of attitudes of the
extended family has been reported by some participants in this study.
External factors. Factors external to the individual also played a major role in
the decision making of the participants. The main sub-themes are family and social
factors.
The results revealed that family had a major influence over the final choice of
the individual. The influence was either facilitative or inhibitive. This has also been
reported by Sands (2011). This is also supported by literature which proposes that
Indians perceive parental regulation as expected behaviour of parents and as a sign of
warmth and concern (Shalini & Acharya, 2013). Adolescence is an age of transition
where adolescents are still dependent on their families for the fulfillment of needs
both psychologically and physically. This applies especially to the Indian society
where parents consider it their duty to provide for the children till they are settled
career wise. This can explain the involvement that families have in the career decision
making of their child in adolescence.
Parents and immediate family members play the role of facilitators to all the
key decisions taken by an individual. Parental role in career decisions of children has
been demonstrated in their research by Clutter (2010), Creamer and Laughlin (2005),
and Hairston (2000). Parental influence is seen to be consistent across cultures and
gender (Ferry, 2006). The role father’s play in shaping the career choices of their
children is evident from some of the responses. This may be attributed to the
patriarchal structure of the Indian society. If the father is the main breadwinner and
decision maker in the family, it is natural for children to look up to them for guidance
and support. Participants also considered their father as a role model. The active role
that fathers play is elaborated by Joseph (2012). They may either be a role model or
direct instructor to their children. The work patterns and social position of parents
were seen to impact children’s career interests. Effective role models can provide a
vicarious learning experience about professional careers. The prominent role of

parents as a role model for career choices has also been reported in other research
(Ferry, 2006). Similar results are reported by Mohd et al. (2010) where 70% of 1436
students reported father as being most influential in their career planning. They may
either be a role model or direct instructor to their children. Some participants also
reported the inhibitive influence of a family structure where they felt pressured to
make career choices that were acceptable to their parents but against their personal
desires. This kind of negative involvement by parents may result in frustration and
lower satisfaction and thereby lower productivity in future career life.
Family support was another major theme that emerged from the data. The
presence or absence of family support influenced career choice and made a difference
to satisfaction levels with their choice. Children look up to their parents for guidance
and material or emotional support in making career plans. Since they are still
dependent on parents for emotional and financial support, adolescents will have to
consider the choices and preferences of parents in this matter. This is also supported
by results of a survey consisting of 3000 Indian students where 73% of students in
undergraduate and postgraduate courses were financially dependent on their parents
(Ph.D. Research Bureau, 2014). Bakshi et al. (2012) in their paper have discussed the
results of a study by Arulmani & Nag-Arulmani in 1995 on 654 young Indian
professionals, and it was reported that 70% of their sample stated that parents had
influenced their career choice. Keller (2004) has also indicated that students with
support and love from parents are more skilled in thinking about career choices and
make more effective career decisions. Family support was also seen to be linked to
perceived barriers in a study by Hill et al. (2003). Lack of support can also result in
pressurizing a child to make choices against their personal desire and can be
detrimental to effective decision making and satisfaction with their careers in the
future. Parental approval and support were linked to future career prospects and status
associated with certain professions as seen in the present study. Simmons (2008)
found parental approval to be high for well-defined and financially lucrative careers.
The influence of parental approval and attribution of prestige for different occupations
on the development of career interests has been highlighted by Arulmani (2013).
The socio-economic background of the family influences the family
environment, attitude, and opportunities that are available to an adolescent. Many
participants reported of financial constraints being the reason they were not able to
make a choice that interested them. This observation was also made by Sands (2011).
Further, the career plans of students coming from financially privileged families were
seen to be markedly different from those from lower income families. Students from
government college background and those coming from lower socio economic status,
lower-middle socio economic status had more financial constraints than students from
private colleges. This is supported by literature which states that in the Indian context
financial barriers and family responsibilities were perceived as a major barrier to
career preparation in the low socio economic status group (Arulmani & Nag-
Arulmani, 2006). Financial barriers are the barriers commonly expressed by people to
pursue their choice of a career (Clutter, 2010). Difficulties of students from lower
socio economic status homes to continue studies and encouragement from parents
from middle and upper classes has been highlighted by Olaosebikan and Olusakin
(2014). Also, parents of adolescents from higher socio-economic backgrounds are
seen to have higher aspirations and offer more support for educational and
occupational goals of their children (Bandura et al., 2001).This was also seen in the
results of the present study
Participants from upper-middle and upper classes had higher career aspirations
and expressed plans to pursue post-graduate education. Most participants from lower-
middle and lower socio economic status planned to start working immediately after
undergraduate studies. This could be due to the financial need of the family and the
necessity for the children to become financially independent as early as possible and
contribute to the family income. Arulmani & Nag-Arulmani (2006) found that
perceived career barriers to career preparation were highest in lower socio-economic
status groups and lowest in upper-middle-class groups.
Family attitude towards an occupational or academic choice was a major
theme that emerged. In the Indian society preference for careers is decided by the
level of prestige associated with each career, with careers associated with technology
and science scoring high on the prestige list (Adya & Kaiser, 2005). Generally, most
careers are seen to lie somewhere on a continuum of prestige associated with it. This
was also seen in the present study. The prestige associated with occupations like
engineering and medicine leads to many families’ pressurizing their children to
choose these occupations at times even against their choice without taking into
consideration their personal interest and aptitude. The presence of bias against
occupations associated with Arts streams was also seen. Parents did not desire their
children to choose Arts stream as they believed that this choice had restricted scope
and future opportunities. The family also looked at desirable occupations as a means
to increase their social status and placed importance on society’s views about the
same. This influenced their future choice. This finding was also reported in another
study where in a list that the researchers had made doctors and engineers were on the
top while blue collar occupations were seen to be in the bottom of the list. Parental
approval was also highest for medicine and engineering and lower for vocational
occupations and blue collar vocations. Regarding the choice of stream, science was
the most preferred while Arts was preferred the least. It has been reported that
students from middle and upper middle socio economic status were influenced more
by factors of prestige and approval by parents (Arulmani & Nag- Arulmani, 2006).
Similar results have also been reported by Simmons (2008) where participants
reported the presence of stereotypes attached to careers that are not perceived to be
mainstream and financially lucrative narrowing career choices. The relationship
between societal, family and personal attitudes and its impact on career choice is
highlighted in the results of the present study.
Open family communication was seen to be linked to higher satisfaction with
choices and more planned decision making in participants. The importance of open
communication in the family has also been stressed by Keller (2004). Openness in
communication, exchange of information and attempt to understand children’s desires
leads to more career exploration in adolescents (Vondracek & Hartung as cited in
Soresi et al. 2014). However, some participants reported the absence of effective
communication related to career choice making in their families due to various
reasons. This may be detrimental for effective career decision making and can be very
frustrating for the adolescent. Hence career counselors may need to be sensitive to
communication patterns in the family and encourage open and clear means of
communication.
Parental expectations both explicit and implicit also guides career choices of
adolescents as they communicate the same indirectly or directly to their children
(Sands, 2011). Parental expectations in adolescence generally center around desires
related to their child’s academic performance and career ambitions and can influence
decisions that are taken (Sasikala & Karunanidhi, 2011). Participants in this study
reported that mostly there was a match between expectations from a career of parents
and themselves. However, in some instances, the specific career choice plans and the
means to fulfill those plans differed between parents and children. Simmons (2008)
reported that in many cases where parents are supportive and offer guidance, students
reported a basic match between expectations and explained the difficulties associated
with non-alignment with parental expectations. Similarly, Sawitri et al. (2014) found
higher confidence in adolescents regarding their career tasks when there was
adolescent- parent career congruence.
Participants whose career plans were consistent with those of their parents
seemed more confident to go ahead with their plans. This could be due to the
collectivist nature of our society where much onus is given to group harmony and
acceptance. This suggests the need for career counselors to be aware of perceived
parental expectations and presence/absence of congruence regarding career plans
between adolescents and parents in the process of career counseling.
Few participants expressed the presence of family expectations and pressure in
the area of career choice. Parents were seen to steer and motivate children to study
hard and stressed on the need to make the right choices. This was more seen in
students coming from middle-class families where it is inevitable that the vocational
success of the adolescent in later life is entirely dependent on his efforts. This is also
seen in literature where parents pushed their children to perform well academically
(Hairston, 2000; Olaosebikan, & Olusakin, 2014). Parents may view the importance
of academic excellence as the first stone to vocational success but may be perceived
by children as pressure from the parents. However, it was also seen in some cases
where high expectations from parents motivated children to work harder and set high
expectations for themselves. So the expectations of parents and children need to be
given due attention when trying to understand career development in adolescents.

The influence of society in the form of social cognitions or beliefs held in the
society regarding careers and its influence on the individual and family was seen in
the present study. Prestige value for occupations, beliefs regarding gender and career
options in society and its influence was expressed by participants. In the Indian
society preference for careers is decided by the level of prestige associated with each
career, with careers related to technology and science and medicine scoring high on
the prestige list (Adya & Kaiser, 2005). In many cases, societal attitudes have
influenced family attitudes which in turn has had an effect on the final choices of
participants. Differential attitudes towards careers for men and women in society was
present in the traditional Indian societal structure which pictured certain occupations
as the domain of men while certain other occupations as a more favourable choice for
women. Though this mindset is changing the presence of these stereotypes can be felt
in the results of the present study and therefore needs to be kept in mind when trying
to understand the position of participants and their families in the career guidance
process.
Gottfredson’s theory of occupational choice highlights the role of gender in
shaping career choices. The role of gender stereotypes held by participants and their
family members was explored in this study. The aim was to see if gender stereotypes
were present and if yes how they influenced the career choices of participants. The
results show a mixed influence of gender on career decisions. Some participants
reported the presence of differences in attitude towards careers for boys and girls in
their families. They had higher expectations from careers for boys than girls. Certain
occupations were also considered more suitable for a particular gender. Similar
findings were reported in a study by Millward et al. (2006) where they reported the
influences of gender stereotypes on adolescents’ career choices. The issue of marriage

of girl children and of them becoming a part of another family may be one reason why
parents have more expectations from male children and expect them to take over
financial responsibilities of the family. This finding was also reported in a study
where they found the presence of gender biases. Families were keener on making the
right choices for their sons but were more liberal with their daughters (Bakshi et al.,
2012). At the same time, however, many participants indicated that their family had
similar career expectations for children irrespective of gender. This is indicative of a
shift in attitude where girls are now encouraged to study, work and be independent.
Personally also they reported no difference based on gender. Female participants also
expressed keenness in pursuing a professional career. This is similar to findings by
Julien (1999) where female participants also showed career commitment and aimed to
work outside of home. This understanding of factors like gender and the influence
they have on career choices and working with these social cognitions may help
facilitate effective decision making which is acceptable to the individual and family.
Cross analysis of themes revealed relationships across themes and sub-themes.
The following propositions were drawn from the data.
1) Individuals who had freedom to make a preferred career choice were satisfied with
their career choice.
2) Individuals who had family support and guidance were more satisfied with their
career choice than participants whose choice was forced.
3) Individuals who felt that there was open family communication, were more satisfied
than people whose choice was forced.
4) Individuals whose choice was based on personal interest were more satisfied with
their choice than participants whose choice was forced.

Choice based Open family

on personal communication
interest
Satisfaction
with choice
Freedom for Family support

personal choice and guidance
Figure 6. Factors aiding satisfaction with career choice.

5) Individuals whose choice was not based on personal interest were seen to be less
satisfied with their choice.
6) Individuals whose choice made due to practical constraints were seen to be less
satisfied with their choice.
7) Individuals whose choice was made due to parental force and family pressure were
seen to be less satisfied with their choice.
Forced choice
Less satisfaction
with choice
Family pressure
Figure 7. Influence of family pressure and forced choice on satisfaction with choice.
8) Individuals with freedom to make a choice were seen to have a supportive family with
open communication.
Supportive family
Freedom for choice
Open
communication
Figure 8. Relationship between supportive family, open communication, and freedom
for choice.
9) Family financial condition influences family attitude towards a career choice.
10) Family financial condition influences family pressure to make particular career
choices and family support for personal career choice.
Family
pressure
Family
Family
financial Career choice
attitude
condition
Family
support
Figure 9. Relationship between family financial condition, family attitude, family
pressure and family support with career choice.

11) Family support for choice is influenced by family attitude for or against certain
professions, family financial conditions, and future career prospects of the choice.
Future career prospects
Family support for a

Family attitude
career choice
Financial condition of
the family
Figure 10. Factors influencing family support.
12) Family attitude for or against certain professions is influenced by societal attitude for
the same.
Preference for Preference for

socially approved socially approved
professions professions
Discriminatory
Family attitude
attitude of society
Bias against certain Bias against certain

professions professions
Figure 11. Influence of attitude of society on family attitude towards careers.
13) Gender influences attitude towards a career with higher expectations for boys and
restrictions for girls in many families.

Higher expectations
from boys
Difference in career
expectations from boys Gender Career choice
and girls
Restrictions for girls
Figure 12. Gender and career choice.

These were some of the relationships that were observed in the data. The
results of the second phase of the study brought out the perceived role of individual
factors, career related factors and family and social factors in the career choice
making of the participants. It also highlighted some aspects related to career decision
making.
Integration of Qualitative and Quantitative Findings
Participants’ final choices with respect to their career in many cases may have
been due to personal choice or external reasons. Career maturity, one aspect of career
decision making and its relationship with personality, metacognition, perceived
parenting style, socio economic status, gender, college type, stream of study and
decision status was investigated in the quantitative phase. In extension, the qualitative
phase explored various other aspects of career choices and influences on career
decisions.
The results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis of data in the current
study reveal that individual factors like personality, gender, and personal interest
influenced career choices along with factors like family socio economic status, family
support, attitude towards careers, communication, parental expectations and parenting
style. Social factors and career related factors also played a role in this aspect. The
findings from the qualitative interviews expand the quantitative results in several
areas.
The statistical analysis revealed the association between some personality
traits and career maturity. The interviews highlighted other personal factors like
personal interest, personal career expectations and personal satisfaction that was taken
into account by participants when choosing a tentative career option. The quantitative
results also revealed the association between socio- economic status, gender, and
college type with career maturity. The data from the semi-structured interviews
explored and explained these associations further. Career maturity was higher in
participants from higher socio- economic status and private colleges. Similarly, it was
seen in the qualitative findings that career aspirations of students from private
colleges were different from students from government colleges. These associations
explain the way in which socio- economic status influences the opportunities and
career options available to individuals. Though no differences in career maturity were
seen between students studying in the Arts, Science and Commerce streams
differences in attitude of family and society about these streams of study and careers
associated with them was seen in the data from the interviews. Participant’s views
expressed the occupational stereotypes and biases for or against occupations.
The quantitative phase also explored only one aspect of family and parental
influence on the adolescent’s career maturity, i.e. perceived parenting style. Other
aspects of family and society like key people in the family, guidance and support from
family, family financial conditions, family attitude, family communication, parental
expectations, societal attitudes that influenced career decision making were
highlighted in the qualitative findings. The semi- structured interviews helped to
explain the role that these factors play in an in-depth manner.
Thus, the results bring out the complexity of the career decision-making
process itself. It also highlights the complex interaction between personal and external
factors in career decision making. Indian youth are now exposed to western values
which encourage independent thinking and decision making. These choices however
in the present sample were more or less within the acceptable category by the family
and society. Though some participants cited personal freedom to choose as a major
factor the question remains whether the onus of the choice would still be the same if
the profession/ course chosen was radically different from general family or societal
norms because the traditional values of obedience to the family was also seen to be a
significant influence.
The family according to family systems theory provides opportunities,
resources and regulates activities of their children (Bakshi et al., 2012). It is within
this framework of parental and societal expectations that children use their own
decision-making skills and make choices. Therefore adolescents have a role to play in
their development. However, their “free will” operates in the context of a family and a
larger context of society. This was seen in the present study. Similar conclusions have
been drawn by Bakshi et al. (2012) who found that both self and family were
important influences on career choice making in young adults. This highlights the role
of both family and personal factors in the career decision-making activity. This can be
explained by Gottfredson’s theory of circumscription, developmental contextual

theory and action perspectives which advocate the reciprocal influence of individual
and his context on each other and their combined influence on career development
(Bakshi et al., 2012). Other researchers like Ghosh (2016) and Millward et al. (2006)
have also found the interaction of personal and family factors in career decision
making.
The study aimed to understand the psychosocial factors associated with career
decision making of adolescents. The quantitative phase highlighted the associations
between career maturity and individual factors like personality and gender, and
contextual factors like socio-economic status, type of college, parenting style. The
results of the qualitative phase expanded the findings of the quantitative study by
highlighting the role of family and social factors, individual factors like personal
interest and career related factors that influence career choices of adolescents.
Together these results provide an understanding of the varied aspects of and factors
influencing career decisions in adolescents. The need for a comprehensive
understanding of the multiple factors that influence one of the most important
decisions in an individual’s life has also been highlighted in literature.
The results reveal that internal and external factors together influence career
choices and career maturity. Adolescents play an active role in their decisions but are
influenced by their contextual factors. Internal factors like personality traits and
personal interest were seen to play a role along with family, social and contextual
influences. The importance of the relationship between parents and children has
emerged in the results of this study. Career decision making can be construed as a
joint child-parent activity drawing on the idea of Young et al. (as cited in
Koumoundourou et al., 2011). Therefore career counselors need to understand various
aspects of an adolescent’s life before formulating an intervention plan. They need to

work with parents and children to formulate and achieve common career goals.
Summary and Conclusion
Summary
Choosing a career path and making tentative career decisions is an important
task in adolescence. Several factors influence this choice and an understanding of the
process of career choice making may aid in the development of effective career
guidance programs. Research related to the various aspects of career decision making
and factors influencing career choices were reviewed. The current research aimed at
studying the factors influencing career decision making in adolescents studying in II
year Pre- University in Bangalore, India.
A mixed methods design was used with quantitative and qualitative methods
to collect and analyse data. The research was conducted in two phases. The
quantitative study explored the association between perceived parenting style,
personality traits, and metacognition with career maturity. It also studied the
relationship between socio- economic status, gender, college type, stream of study and
decision status with career maturity. The qualitative study explored the personal and
family factors in the career decision making of the participants.
The sample for the quantitative phase comprised of 548 participants studying
in II year Pre-University recruited from government and private colleges in
Bangalore. Data was collected using a socio demographic data sheet, Career Maturity
Inventory, Parental Authority Questionnaire, Neo Five Factor Inventory and
Metacognitive Awareness Inventory. 30 participants who were part of the quantitative
study were selected for the qualitative phase. An interview scheduled designed and
validated for this study was used to collect data.
Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis, t tests and One way
ANOVA was used. Significant negative associations were found between neuroticism
and career maturity attitude and planning while significant positive associations were
found between career maturity attitude and personality traits openness and
conscientiousness. Openness was also significantly associated with self-appraisal.
Perceived parenting style was also found to be associated with specific aspects of
career maturity. Authoritarian parenting style was found to be associated with lower
career maturity scores while authoritative parenting style was seen to be associated
with higher career maturity scores. Gender differences were seen in some aspects of
career maturity attitude and competence. Students from private colleges and higher
socio- economic status were seen to have higher career maturity in comparison to
students from government colleges and lower socio economic backgrounds. Decided
students had higher career maturity than students who were not decided about their
future careers. Regression analysis revealed that the perceived parenting style,
personality traits, and metacognition, socio- economic status, gender, college type,
stream of study and decision status had a moderate combined influence on all aspects
of career maturity. It highlights that other factors may be influencing career maturity.
In the qualitative phase the data from interviews were transcribed, coded and
template analysis was done. Cross analysis was done between cases. Triangulation
was done to ensure reliability and validity in the analysis process. Global themes and
sub- themes were derived from the data. Academic and career choices and factors
influencing career choices were the two global themes that emerged from the data.
Satisfaction with career choice, decision status, decision making as a process from
eighth standard to 12th standard, sources of information about careers and career
expectations were the sub- themes that emerged under the global theme academic and
career choices. The sub-themes under the global theme factors influencing career
choices were intrinsic factors, extrinsic factors, career related factors and gender and
career decisions.
Majority of the participants reported that they had made a career related
decision. Satisfaction/dissatisfaction with their choice was influenced by other factors.
Decisions had changed over a period of time for most participants. People were seen
to be the most common source of information about careers. Minimal use of formal
sources of career guidance was noted. Opportunities, satisfaction and financial
stability were commonly expressed expectations from careers. Personal interest and
need to be different were the intrinsic factors seen to play a role in career choices.
Future scope, ease of choice and financial prospects were the aspects of careers most
seen to have an influence on an individual’s choice. Family was seen to be a key
influence in this regard. Guidance and support from family, role models in the family,
family attitudes towards occupations, occupational stereotypes, family
communication and family expectations emerged as influences on career decisions.
Society and gender were also seen to play a role in this regard.
The results from the qualitative analysis provide a deeper understanding of the
results of the statistical analysis. When understood together it was seen that intrinsic
factors like personality traits, personal interest, gender and personal expectations
influenced career choices. External and contextual factors like socio-economic status,
college type, social factors and family factors like family attitude towards
occupations, family communication patterns, family support and parenting style
influenced career maturity and the career choice process.
The study concluded that both individual, external and contextual factors
influence career choices in adolescents in this population. The role of family in this
important decision has emerged from the study. The results of the study can be used
to educate and guide teachers, parents and career counselors. Career counseling
interventions that will take into account the present results can be designed to make
the career guidance process more effective.
Implications
The findings of the study have several implications. Specific personality traits
were found to influence career maturity in this study. This brings out the need for
career counselors to include personality assessment in career counseling to gain
insight into the client’s strengths and weaknesses and tailor interventions to help
overcome weak areas. For e.g. clients high on neuroticism and a tendency for
emotional distress can be helped to deal with their negative emotions effectively while
clients low on conscientiousness can be helped to increase self- regulatory behaviour
as conscientiousness is a known predictor of several indices of job performance.
Similarly, a client low on openness could be steered towards a more active
exploration of career options.
Career related variables that influenced career choices that students made
emerged in the study. The absence of in-depth exploration about career choices and
opportunities and lack of use of formal career guidance programs was noted. This is a
significant finding and parents and school authorities can be sensitized about the need
to expose and educate adolescents regarding options available to them to facilitate
effective career decision making.
The role of family and parental influence on career decision making has been a
significant finding in this research. Several family variables and their strong impact on
career decisions of adolescents were highlighted in the results. Parenting styles were
seen to have a relationship with career variables. These findings can be used to
sensitize parents of the enormous influence they have on the career decision-making
process of their child thereby impacting the future opportunities and accomplishments
of their child. During career counseling, parents can be taught how to aid career
exploration and facilitate better decision making.
This study highlights the presence of certain biases in the society which favour
certain occupations while putting down some other occupations. These biases are seen
to influence the career choices of individuals which may lead to ineffective choices.
There is a need to address these biases and bring in an attitude of tolerance towards all
professions. Awareness about career beliefs and social cognitions that are present in
the family and society can help the career counselor educate the family and individual
about the need to make decisions based on individual interests and aptitudes. This
finding may be incorporated in career counseling programs to involve activities
towards the reduction of these biases leading to more effective choice making.
It also brings out the need to explore parental expectations and aspirations and
see how these are in line or oppose adolescent aspirations to enable effective career
decision-making. Bringing a balance between the two in cases where there is a lack of
congruence between parental and adolescent plans is crucial in making the guidance
process useful.
The findings can help counselors assist students in identifying their goals early
and clarify needs before making choices. The major findings of this study can be used
as a starting point for further research. The propositions arrived at in the qualitative
findings can be used as hypothesis for further quantitative research. Further
researchers can utilize the results of this study to build comprehensive career guidance
programs which are tailor made to this population and which recognize the influence
of family and involve the family in vocational guidance programs.
Limitations and Suggestions
The present study aimed to explore the factors that influence an adolescent’s
career decision making. There are limitations to the present study which need to be
kept in mind when interpreting the results of this study. Some of the limitations and
suggestions for future research are as follows:
Being an exploratory study, the findings need to be interpreted keeping this in
mind till other studies replicate the results. The present study was conducted on
students from an urban area. The career choices and career paths of urban students
may differ from those of students from rural areas. Hence the results of the present
study are limited to an urban population. In future, research can be conducted with
students from rural and semi-urban areas to find out the differences
In the quantitative phase, self-report measures were used to collect data. While
this method allows for easy administration, the possibility of a respondent's responses
being influenced by social desirability resulting in a response bias exists which should
be kept in mind.
The study design for the quantitative phase was primarily correlational. Hence
causal relationships cannot be assumed.
The qualitative phase focused on student’s perspectives of factors that
influenced their career choices. Parents’ perspectives of the career choice process can
also be looked into in future studies.
This research focused on the role of personality traits, metacognition and
perceived parenting style in career maturity and also the role of personal and family
factors in career decision making. Other personal, social, and environmental factors
are known to influence career development. They can be explored in future research.
Multiple groups across age and field of study can be used to explore the career
maturity levels and career decision-making process.
The findings of this study expand and elaborate on personal and external
correlates of career decision-making in the Indian context.
Conclusion
The major results of research were associated with the examination of the
relationship between personality, metacognition and perceived parenting style with
career maturity and the role of personal and family factors to understand the career
decision making of students studying in Pre-University in Bangalore, India. This
study aimed to add to the empirical literature on career development by exploring how
these factors might influence the career decision-making process of adolescents
individually and in combination.
Personal and contextual factors were seen to influence academic and career
choices in adolescents in various ways. Several parental and family circumstances
played a role in this aspect of an adolescent’s life.
While the present study delves only into a part of the large phenomenon of
career decision making, the importance of the results lie in the assistance it can
provide to parents, teachers, authorities and career counselors to better understand the
career decision-making process of adolescents in India. It brings out the need to
develop and conduct career counseling interventions to ensure effective decision
making in this population.

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A MIXED METHODS STUDY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL

FACTORS IN CAREER DECISION MAKING IN

A thesis submitted to the Christ University for the award of the

AMTOOR PAVANA RAO

(Register Number: 1344201)

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF

DR. K. JAYASANKARA REDDY

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology,

Centre for Research

Career choice is an important developmental task in adolescence and is

parenting style, personality traits, metacognition, socio- economic status, gender,

Parental Authority Questionnaire, Neo Five Factor Inventory and Metacognitive

Statistical analysis was done to analyze quantitative data. Descriptive

data. The results revealed associations between personality traits neuroticism,

competence. Authoritarian parenting style was seen to have a negative association

specific aspects of career maturity. Significant differences were observed between

moderate combined influence on all aspects of career maturity.

standard, sources of information about careers and career expectations. Intrinsic

that individual, external and contextual factors influence career decisions in

and career counseling interventions.

Key words: Career decision-making, career choice, career maturity, career

expectations, adolescent, personality, family, parenting style, decision making,

metacognition, factors influencing career decisions

METHODS STUDY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS IN CAREER

DECISION MAKING IN ADOLESCENTS” submitted to Christ University,

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology is a record of original and independent research

work done by me under the supervision of Dr. K. Jayasankara Reddy, Associate

Professor, Department of Psychology, Christ University. I also declare that this

award of any degree

Amtoor Pavana Rao

research and I take this opportunity to thank each one them.

I would first like to express my gratitude and acknowledge the contribution of

research. Thank you Sir for guiding and motivating me.

I am grateful to Dr (Fr) Thomas C. Mathew, Vice Chancellor of Christ

allowed me to pursue my research and at the same time fulfill my personal

commitments to my family. My gratitude to all the staff of the Department of

I express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Tony Sam George, Head, Department of

with regard to my qualitative analysis and for reviewing my interview schedule.

Christ University who encouraged and supported me in the initial stages of my

research. I extend my gratitude to Dr. Baiju Gopal, Associate Professor, Department

of Psychology for helping me review my interview schedule. My gratitude to Dr. Rati

translation of my scales. My sincere thanks to Mr. James Kurian, Assistant

Institute for helping me with my statistical analysis.

I am indebted to all the Colleges for giving me permission to conduct my

without which this research would not have been possible.

and Sweety for helping me in a time of need with this research.

my family, my biggest strength. Words cannot express my gratitude to my strongest

have encouraged and supported me in everything I do. Lastly, I thank my husband

my life in the last three years. Thank you everyone.

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. ix

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ xi

LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................xiii

Career Decision Making........................................................................................... 22

Quantitative Data Analysis and Interpretation ......................................................... 84

Summary of Findings ............................................................................................. 141

Discussion of Quantitative Research Findings ....................................................... 142

Summary ................................................................................................................ 174

APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... 207

Appendix A Informed Consent Form (Participants) ........................................... 207