Honors College Theses

Publication Date

11-2-2021

Major

Psychology (B.A.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Faculty Mentor

Joshua L. Williams

Abstract

Career choice can be a difficult process for young adults, and parental involvement is a key factor in students’ career development. In this study, we examined whether college students’ degree of decidedness differs with respect to parental styles, following Baumrind’s (1967) classification: authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative. The authoritative style tends to be associated with better outcomes overall due to parental figures seeking discipline and control while embracing an autonomy-supportive environment. We recruited 200 first and second-year college students to complete the Parent Authority Questionnaire to determine the parenting style exercised by their parents (Buri, 1991). Then, they completed the Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire (Gati et al., 1996) to measure specific career decision difficulties. We hypothesized that participants who experienced authoritarian parenting would encounter more difficulty in career decision-making than those who experienced authoritative parenting, due to the high psychological control, firm discipline, and lack of compromise and communication evident in the authoritarian parenting style. Moreover, we hypothesized that participants exposed to a permissive parenting style, characterized by parents’ aloofness and lack of control or discipline, would encounter more difficulty in career decision-making than those who experienced authoritative parenting. Results show that there is an underlying connection between experiencing a permissive-authoritative parenting style combination and having more difficulty in career decision-making, as opposed to any other parental combination.

Thesis Summary

In this study, we examined whether college students’ degree of decidedness differs with respect to parental styles, following Baumrind’s (1967) classification: authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative. We recruited 200 first and second-year college students to complete the Parent Authority Questionnaire to determine the parenting style exercised by their parents (Buri, 1991). Then, they completed the Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire (Gati et al., 1996) to measure specific career decision difficulties. Results show that there is an underlying connection between experiencing a permissive-authoritative parenting style combination and having more difficulty in career decision-making, as opposed to any other parental combination.

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