Considerable research has been focused on how career decision self-efficacy is related to constructs such as certainty (Betz, Klein, & Taylor, 1996), fear of commitment (Betz & Sterling, 1993), and adaptive career beliefs (Luzzo & Day, 1999). The purpose of this study was to identify relationships among career-specific barriers in the career decision-making process, specifically regarding dysfunctional career thoughts, perfectionism, and career decision self-efficacy in a sample of 300 undergraduate students. Results of the study included: (a) a positive relationship between overall perfectionism and dysfunctional career thinking; (b) a negative relationship between dysfunctional career thoughts and career decision self-efficacy; (c) dysfunctional thinking was higher among maladaptive perfectionists than either adaptive perfectionists or non-perfectionists, further, non-perfectionists endorsed more dysfunctional thoughts than adaptive perfectionists; (d) adaptive perfectionists had higher career decision self-efficacy than maladaptive perfectionists and non-perfectionists and further, maladaptive perfectionists endorsed less career decision self-efficacy than non-perfectionists; and (e) perfectionism and dysfunctional career thoughts predicted significant variance in career decision self-efficacy. It is suggested that interventions that address maladaptive perfectionism and negative career thinking may potentially enhance a client's confidence in decision making. Implications for important future research and study limitations are also presented.
","abstract_html":"<p>Considerable research has been focused on how career decision self-efficacy is related to constructs such as certainty (Betz, Klein, & Taylor, 1996), fear of commitment (Betz & Sterling, 1993), and adaptive career beliefs (Luzzo & Day, 1999). The purpose of this study was to identify relationships among career-specific barriers in the career decision-making process, specifically regarding dysfunctional career thoughts, perfectionism, and career decision self-efficacy in a sample of 300 undergraduate students. Results of the study included: (a) a positive relationship between overall perfectionism and dysfunctional career thinking; (b) a negative relationship between dysfunctional career thoughts and career decision self-efficacy; (c) dysfunctional thinking was higher among maladaptive perfectionists than either adaptive perfectionists or non-perfectionists, further, non-perfectionists endorsed more dysfunctional thoughts than adaptive perfectionists; (d) adaptive perfectionists had higher career decision self-efficacy than maladaptive perfectionists and non-perfectionists and further, maladaptive perfectionists endorsed less career decision self-efficacy than non-perfectionists; and (e) perfectionism and dysfunctional career thoughts predicted significant variance in career decision self-efficacy. It is suggested that interventions that address maladaptive perfectionism and negative career thinking may potentially enhance a client's confidence in decision making. Implications for important future research and study limitations are also presented.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Andrews, Lindsay Marie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Emily Bullock","Bonnie Nicholson","Eric Dahlen"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:58Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/466","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Emily Bullock","Bonnie Nicholson","Eric Dahlen"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Andrews, Lindsay Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-11-08T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/466"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Considerable research has been focused on how career decision self-efficacy is related to constructs such as certainty (Betz, Klein, & Taylor, 1996), fear of commitment (Betz & Sterling, 1993), and adaptive career beliefs (Luzzo & Day, 1999). The purpose of this study was to identify relationships among career-specific barriers in the career decision-making process, specifically regarding dysfunctional career thoughts, perfectionism, and career decision self-efficacy in a sample of 300 undergraduate students. Results of the study included: (a) a positive relationship between overall perfectionism and dysfunctional career thinking; (b) a negative relationship between dysfunctional career thoughts and career decision self-efficacy; (c) dysfunctional thinking was higher among maladaptive perfectionists than either adaptive perfectionists or non-perfectionists, further, non-perfectionists endorsed more dysfunctional thoughts than adaptive perfectionists; (d) adaptive perfectionists had higher career decision self-efficacy than maladaptive perfectionists and non-perfectionists and further, maladaptive perfectionists endorsed less career decision self-efficacy than non-perfectionists; and (e) perfectionism and dysfunctional career thoughts predicted significant variance in career decision self-efficacy. It is suggested that interventions that address maladaptive perfectionism and negative career thinking may potentially enhance a client's confidence in decision making. Implications for important future research and study limitations are also presented.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Influence on Career Development: Dysfunctional Career Thoughts, Perfectionism, and Career Decision Self-Efficacy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Emily Bullock","Bonnie Nicholson","Eric Dahlen"],"dc:creator":["Andrews, Lindsay Marie"],"dc:date.available":["2018-11-08T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Considerable research has been focused on how career decision self-efficacy is related to constructs such as certainty (Betz, Klein, & Taylor, 1996), fear of commitment (Betz & Sterling, 1993), and adaptive career beliefs (Luzzo & Day, 1999). The purpose of this study was to identify relationships among career-specific barriers in the career decision-making process, specifically regarding dysfunctional career thoughts, perfectionism, and career decision self-efficacy in a sample of 300 undergraduate students. Results of the study included: (a) a positive relationship between overall perfectionism and dysfunctional career thinking; (b) a negative relationship between dysfunctional career thoughts and career decision self-efficacy; (c) dysfunctional thinking was higher among maladaptive perfectionists than either adaptive perfectionists or non-perfectionists, further, non-perfectionists endorsed more dysfunctional thoughts than adaptive perfectionists; (d) adaptive perfectionists had higher career decision self-efficacy than maladaptive perfectionists and non-perfectionists and further, maladaptive perfectionists endorsed less career decision self-efficacy than non-perfectionists; and (e) perfectionism and dysfunctional career thoughts predicted significant variance in career decision self-efficacy. It is suggested that interventions that address maladaptive perfectionism and negative career thinking may potentially enhance a client's confidence in decision making. Implications for important future research and study limitations are also presented.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/466"],"dc:title":["Influence on Career Development: Dysfunctional Career Thoughts, Perfectionism, and Career Decision Self-Efficacy"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:58Z"}