Construct validity of career indecision: Negative personality traits as predictors of career indecision

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the construct validity of career indecision by examining its relationships to selected negative personality traits (perfectionism, self-consciousness, and fear of commitment) among 217 college students. It was hypothesized that career indecision would be positively and significantly associated with perfectionism, self-consciousness, and fear of commitment. As predicted, fear of commitment was a strong predictor of career indecision. Two of the three dimensions of perfectionism were also predictive of career indecision: Self-oriented perfectionism was a significant negative predictor of career indecision, whereas socially prescribed perfectionism was positively predictive of career indecision. However, other-oriented perfectionism was not predictive of career indecision. As was true of perfectionism, two of the three dimensions of self-consciousness were predictive of career indecision: Private self-consciousness was a positive predictor of career indecision, and social anxiety was a negative predictor. Public self-consciousness was not a significant predictor of career indecision. The implications of the findings for career counselors and for future research are discussed.