Associations of Career Decision-Making Strategies With Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy and Difficulties Among French-Speaking Swiss Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

Individuals differ in the strategies, self-efficacy beliefs, and difficulties that characterize their career decision-making process. Although some strategies are deemed adaptive, the differential links of career decision-making strategies to self-efficacy and difficulties, in general and in various cultural contexts, remain unclear. To address this issue, we investigated the associations of 12 career decision-making strategies with self-efficacy and difficulties among 414 adolescents and young adults in the cultural context of the French-speaking part of Switzerland. In doing so, we also sought to develop a French version of the Career Decision-Making Profiles questionnaire (CDMP-F) for assessing career decision-making strategies. Results confirmed the fit of the hypothesized 12-factor model underlying the CDMP-F and the adaptability assumption for six of 12 strategies: information gathering, locus of control, procrastination, speed of making the final decision, dependence on others, and desire to please others. Moreover, differentiated associations were uncovered: high procrastination and external locus of control were linked to lack of motivation; slow speed of making the final decision was linked to general indecisiveness; and high desire to please others was linked to external conflicts. Supporting the structural and construct validity of the CDMP-F and identifying differential associations, implications for research and practice are discussed.