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High school students’ career decision-making pattern across parenting styles and parental attachment levels
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 8(1), 263-280. 2010 (nº 20). ISSN: 1696-2095. - 263 -
High school students’ career decision-making
pattern across parenting styles and
parental attachment levels
Fulya Cenkseven-Önder, Oğuzhan Kırdök , Erkan Işık
Psychological Counseling & Guidance, Çukurova University, Adana
Turkey
This research was presented at the International Congress of Counseling in İstanbul, April 2008. We would like
to thank to Editor Jesús de la Fuente, Assistant Editor Juan Luís Benítez and two anonymous reviewers for their
helpful comments and suggestions.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Fulya Cenkseven-Önder, Çukurova University,
Faculty of Education, Psychological Counseling & Guidance Department, Balcalı. Adana, Turkey. E-mail:
fulyac@cu.edu.tr
© Education & Psychology I+D+i and Editorial EOS (Spain)
Fulya Cenkseven-Önder et al.
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Abstract
Introduction. The purpose of this research was to investigate career decision among high
school students regarding to their parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and
neglectful) and parental attachment levels.
Method. With this purpose, 382 (200 females; 182 males) Turkish high school students aged
14–18 completed Career Decision Inventory, The Parenting Style Inventory and The
Inventory of Parent Attachment, as measures of career decision, parenting syle and parental
attachment levels, respectively. For analyzing the data one way ANOVA was performed.
Results. Results of the study demonstrated that children of more authoritative and
authoritarian parents were found more decisive than the children of neglectful and indulgent
parents. In terms of attachment levels, significant differences were found among all sub-scales
of CDI. Furthermore, students who experienced a medium degree of attachment to their
parents were found more decisive than the ones experiencing low or high degree of
attachment.
Discussion. Therfore, the effects of parenting styles and parent attechment levels on career
decision-making pattern have to be taken into consideration regarding to career development
and career choice of adolescents. Further research should explore the explanation of career
decision in terms of parenting styles and attachment levels for different gender and age groups
in order to identify relevant determinants at each age level and for females and males
separately.
Keywords. career decision, parenting style, parental attachment level
Received: 08/12/09 Initial Acceptance: 08/22/09 Definitive Acceptance: 01/14/10
High school students’ career decision-making pattern across parenting styles and parental attachment levels
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 8(1), 263-280. 2010 (nº 20). ISSN: 1696-2095. - 265 -
Patrones de elección de carrera profesional entre estudian-
tes de enseñanza secundaria, según los estilos de crianza
parental y el nivel de apego con los padres
Resumen
Introducción. El objetivo de esta investigación es estudiar los patrones de elección de carrera
entre alumnado de secundaria en relación con los estilos de crianza parental (autoritativo, au-
toritario, permisivo y negligente) y los niveles de apego con los padres.
Método. Con este objetivo, 382 estudiantes turcos de secundaria (200 mujeres y 182 hom-
bres) con edades comprendidas entre los 14 y los 18 años completaron el Inventario de Elec-
ción de la Carrera, el Inventario de Estilos de Crianza Parental y el Inventario de Apego
Parental, como medidas de elección de la carrera, estilo de crianza y niveles de apego,
respectivamente. Para el análisis de los datos se utilizo el análisis ANOVA.
Resultados. Los resultados del estudio muestran que los niños con padres autoritativos y au-
toritarios eran más decididos que aquellos con padres negligentes o permisivos. En términos
de niveles de apego, se encontraron diferencias significativas entre todas la subescalas del
inventario. Además, el alumnado con niveles medios de apego eran más decididos que aque-
llos que experimentaron niveles bajos o altos de apego.
Discusión. De acuerdo con los resultados, los efectos de los estilos de crianza y los niveles de
apego en la elección de la carrera deben tenerse en consideración en relacción con el desarollo
de la carrera y la elección de la misma. De la misma manera, futuras investigaciones deberían
explicar la elección de la carrera en términos de estilos de crianza y niveles de apego en
relación con el género y la edad para así identificar indicadores relevantes para cada nivel de
edad y género.
Keywords. Elección de la carrera, estilos de crianza, niveles de apego.
Recibido: 12/08/09 Aceptación Inicial: 22/08/09 Aceptación Definitiva: 14/01/10
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Introduction
As Krumboltz and his colleagues (1976) pointed out in their social learning theory of
career selection, each of us is born or adopted into a family which has learned a certain reli-
gion, has adopted certain values, and which communicates certain expectations to the new
child. Hence, it is almost impossible to make a career decision completely independent from
our families. Little or much, they have influence on our decisions, specifically career deci-
sions. But the questions is, to what extent? There is a rich and diverse literature to find alter-
native answers to this question. Within the career literature, researchers have studied the fami-
ly influence on career development (Young, Friesen, & Pearson, 1988), career selection
(Bratcher, 1982), career exploration (Blustein, 1997), development of vocational interests
(Turner & Lapan, 2002), development of vocational values (Lapan, Hinkelman, Adams, &
Turner, 1999), career expectations (Paa & McWhirter, 2000), career orientation (O’Brien,
Friedman, Tipton, & Linn, 2000). To some extent, all of these issues are related with career
decision-making process.
Besides, recent researches on family influence on career decision-making support the
significance of family patterns on career development. Wolfe and Betz (2004) found that both
career decision-making self efficacy and career indecisiveness were associated to the quality
of parental attachment bonds. In their qualitative study, Okubo, Yeh, Lin, Fujita, and Shea
(2007) found that parents’ academic and career expectations influenced the career decisions
of Chinese youth. In their review on the influences of the family of origin on career develop-
ment, Whiston and Keller (2004) concluded that across the lifespan, both family structure
variables such as parents’ occupations, educational level and family process variables such as
warmth, support, attachment, autonomy from parents were found to influence a large number
of career constructs. Consistent with this findings, Kotrlik and Harrison (1989) asked 3858
high school students in Louisiana who had influenced their career decision-making process
and the results demonstrated that parents, particularly mothers were the most influental. Pa-
rents were followed by grandparents, aunts, uncles, other relatives and siblings. In a similar
study, Işık (2007) asked 705 undergraduate students from 11 faculties about the most signifi-
cant person in their choice of department in higher education and 23% reported their parents
and other relatives as the influencing characters.
High school students’ career decision-making pattern across parenting styles and parental attachment levels
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 8(1), 263-280. 2010 (nº 20). ISSN: 1696-2095. - 267 -
The influence of the family can also be explained within the terms of parenting styles
and parental attachment levels. Attachment was originally defined as the strong affective
bond established between the infant and the primary caregiver (Bowlby, 1973). According to
attachment theory, these bonds established during infancy continues to be effective later in
that person’s life (Ainsworth, 1989; Man & Hamid, 1998). Previous research has repeatedly
demonstrated that a secure attachment with parents in adolescence is associated with a better
psychological well-being, less psychological distress, and greater perceived social support
(Armsden & Greenberg, 1987; Blain, Thompson, & Whiffen, 1993; Bradford and Lyddon,
1993). Similarly, high school girls who experienced a moderate degree of attachment to their
mothers were found to feel emotionally closer to their mothers and trust their mothers to assist
in managing their personal affairs (O’Brien, 1996). Attachment to mother was positively as-
sociated with environmental exploration and progress in committing to career choices. Stu-
dents who have greater levels of attachments to peers and to their mother were found to bet-
ter commit to occupational choices and participate in career exploration process (Felsman &
Blustein, 1999). Many researchers (Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg, Dornbusch, 1991; Stein-
berg, Lamborn, Darling, Mounts, & Dornbusch, 1994; Steinberg, Lamborn, Dornbusch, &
Darling, 1992) have employed a fourfold typology of child rearing styles based on acceptan-
ce/involvement, and strictness/supervision dimensions; authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent,
and neglectful. According to this typology which was also used in the present study, the ac-
ceptance/involvement dimension is related to the extent to which adolescents perceive their
parents as loving, involved, and responsive. The strictness/supervision dimension has to do
with parental control, monitoring, and supervision of the child. Authoritative parents are high
on both dimensions; however, neglectful parents are low in both dimensions. Authoritarian
parents are low on acceptance/involvement but high on strictness/supervision. Finally, indul-
gent parents are high on acceptance/involvement but low on strictness/supervision.
Most of the research on this specific issue is conducted with adolescents since
adolescence is a period of intense exploration and deciding on a career is a key developmental
task during this period (Martínez, 2007; Savickas, 2002; Super, 1990). The adolescence years
are also critical for career decision-making because during these years vocational goals,
interests, and values are formed (Peterson & Gonzalez, 2000). Hence, in the current study,
sample was selected from adolescents of 9th, 10th, and 11th grades in high schools.
Fulya Cenkseven-Önder et al.
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Examining the literature and research studies above it can surely be stated that the
families have effect, wheteher positively or negatively, on people’s career decisions. The level
of this effect is changeable in different cultures. For Turkish culture, there is little evidence
indicating the level of family factor on career decisions. Within these studies, Hamamcı and
Hamurlu (2005) found that the level of career indecision of the students whose fathers had
positive attitudes was lower than those whose fathers had negative attitudes about helping
their children for career development. Determining the influence of the family seems critical
to understand the complexities of career development and career decision-making process. In
the light of these research findings, the aim of this study was to investigate the career decision
among high school students regarding to their parenting and parental attachment levels. Two
reserach questions were to be looked at by this study:
1. Do high school students’ career decision-making pattern vary significantly across
parenting styles?
2. Do high school students’ career decision-making pattern vary significantly across
parent attachment levels?
Method
Participants
The participants of this study comprised 200 girls (52.4%) and 182 boys (47.6%), a to-
tal of 382 students in Grades 9-11 from four public high schools in Adana central province,
Turkey. Their ages ranged from 14 to 18 years (M=16.08, SD=.98). Forty-two percent were
9th grade, 33% were 10th grade, and 25% were 11th grade students. A 95% ( =0.05) confiden-
ce interval with a 5% probability of error was taken when calculating the sample adequecy. A
vast majority of participants reported that their parents were married (92 %). Eight percent of
participants' parents were divorced, and 3.7 % of participants had a parent who was deceased.
High school students’ career decision-making pattern across parenting styles and parental attachment levels
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 8(1), 263-280. 2010 (nº 20). ISSN: 1696-2095. - 269 -
Instruments
Career Decision Inventory, CDI, (Çakır, 2004). The inventory consists of 30 items. The five
categories in the career decision inventory are as follow: 1. Internal conflicts, 2. Lack of self-
knowledge, 3. Lack of occupation and field knowledge, 4. Irrrational beliefs about career
choice, and 5. External conflicts. As a result of the validity and reliability tests on career deci-
sion inventory, it has been found that the inventory which has been developed is appropriate
in determining the level of career indecision of high school students. It has been pointed out
that the inventory can be used in determing the students who are in a state of career indeci-
sion, in the secondary schools where counseling and guidance are provided. Higher scores
indicate career indecision whereas lower scores indicate career decisiveness. Cronbach alpha
coefficient calculated for the scale was .85. Test-retest coefficient was .83. The results of fac-
tor analysis yielded 5 factors with eigen values greater than 1, accounting for the 30% of the
total variance (Çakır, 2004). In the present study, the Cronbach alpha coefficient was recalcu-
lated as .93.
The Parenting Style Inventory, PSI, (Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg, & Darnbush, 1991). The
Parenting Style Inventory (PSI), developed by Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg and Darnbush
(1991) is a 26 item multidimensional scale. The scale has three factors: acceptan-
ce/involvement, strictness/supervision, and psychological autonomy. Acceptance/involvement
subscale measures the extent to which the adolescent perceives his or her parents as loving,
responsive, and involved (sample item: When I have problems, I am sure that my parents will
help me). The strictness/supervision subscale assesses parental monitoring and supervision of
the adolescents (sample item: Does your parent permit you to go out at night during the we-
ek?). Psychological autonomy subscale assesses the extent to which parents employ noncoer-
cive, democratic discipline and encourage the adolescents to express individuality in the fami-
ly (sample item: My father and mother tell me not to argue with the elderly). Steinberg and
his colleagues reported an alpha coefficient of .72 for acceptance/involvement scale; .76 for
strictness/supervision scale; and .82 for psychological autonomy scale (Lamborn et al. 1991;
Steinberg et al. 1992, 1994).
PSI was adapted into Turkish by Yılmaz (2000). Cronbach alpha coefficients calcula-
ted for each subscale were .70 for acceptance/involvement, .69 for strictness/supervision, .66
Fulya Cenkseven-Önder et al.
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for psychological autonomy subscales. Test-retest coefficients were .82 for acceptan-
ce/involvement, .88 for strictness/supervision, and .76 for psychological autonomy.
The Inventory of Parent Attachment, IPA, (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987). The Inventory of
Parent Attachment (IPA), developed by Armsden and Greenberg (1987) and adapted into
Turkish by Hortaçsu and Oral (1991), was used to determine adolescents’ cognitive and affec-
tive dimensions of their attachment to their parents. The inventory consists of 28 items. The
scale was rated on a 5-point scale with endpoints of never to always. Participants were ins-
tructed that if they had a different relationship with their mother and father, they should res-
pond to the items for the parent who most influenced them. Cronbach alpha coefficients for
Turkish Form was .92.
Procedure and Data Analysis
The students were asked to take part in an anonymous study examining their career
decision levels, parenting styles, and parental attachment levels by completing a questionnaire
packet including (a) a brief demographic questionnaire, (b) the CDI, (c) the PSI, and (d) the
IPA. Researchers themselves distributed and collected the surveys during specified class
sessions, and appropriate informed consent procedures were followed in collecting data.
Before the data analysis, four parenting styles were identified by assigning students
based on their scores obtained from acceptance/involvement and strictness/supervision
dimensions. The psychological autonomy dimension was found to be important in defining
authoritativeness but less in differentiating among authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and
neglectful parents (Lamborn et al. 1991; Steinberg et al. 1992, 1994). Consequently, scores
on the acceptance/involvement and strictness/supervision dimensions were used in the present
research to assign parents to one of the four groups.
The median was found 26 for acceptance/involvement and 18 for
strictness/supervision dimensions. Students whose scores were above the median both on
acceptance/involvement and strictness/supervision dimensions were assigned to the group of
authoritative parenting style. Students whose scores were below the median both on
acceptance/involvement and strictness/supervision dimensions were assigned to the group of
neglectful parenting style. Students whose scores were above the median on
High school students’ career decision-making pattern across parenting styles and parental attachment levels
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 8(1), 263-280. 2010 (nº 20). ISSN: 1696-2095. - 271 -
acceptance/involvement and below the median on strictness/supervision dimensions were
assigned to the group of indulgent parenting style. Finally, students whose scores were below
the median on acceptance/involvement and above the median on strictness/supervision
dimensions were assigned to the group of authoritarian parenting style.
Three hundred and eighty-two participants completed the IPA. Participants who
scored at least 1 standart deviation above and below the mean on the IPA (M=77.58,
SD=11.45) were selected. Group with low parental attachment level were defined as those
subjects scoring at least 1 standart deviation below the mean (66.13 and below), whereas
group with mid-level of parental attachment were centre of mid and high levels (66.13 –
89.03), nonetheless group with high parental attachment level defined as those individuals
who scored at least 1 standart deviation above the mean (89.03 and above). This selection
process resulted in, 64 those with low parental attachment level, 252 those with mid parental
attachment level, and 66 those with high parental attachment level.
After all these clasifications to analyze the gathered data, means and standard
deviation distributions were investigated and one way ANOVA was performed. The analysis
was carried out by using the SPSS, version 13.0.
Results
Results showed that, there were significant differences between students’ “lack of
selfknowledge” (F(3,381)=4.88, p<.01), “lack of occupation and field knowledge” (F(3,381)=3.89,
p<.01) and “career decision” (F(3,381)=3.38, p<.05) scores according to their parents’ parenting
styles (Table 1). Post hoc analyses to the ANOVA for career decision, lack of selfknowledge,
lack of occupation and field knowledge scores consisted of conducting pairwise comparisons
to find the differences among four groups of parenting styles. According to the LSD method,
in the “lack of self-knowledge” scores, the results yielded significant differences between the
students who perceived their parents as authoritative (M=16.29) and those who perceived
their parents as neglectful (M=19.15) and, between the students who perceived their parents
as indulgent (M=18.86). Significant differences were also found between the students who
perceived their parents as authoritarian (M=16.24) and those who perceived their parents as
Fulya Cenkseven-Önder et al.
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neglectful (M=19.15) and, between the students who perceived their parents as indulgent
(M=18.86).
Table 1. Career indecision levels of high school students according
to their parenting styles
N
Mean
SD
F value
Career indecision
Authoritative
70
70.29
24.25
3.38*
Neglectful
139
78.60
23.89
Indulgent
97
79.51
27.00
Authoritarian
76
71.26
22.74
Total
382
75.85
24.79
Internal conflicts
Authoritative
70
20.44
8.46
1.38
Neglectful
139
21.03
8.84
Indulgent
97
22.72
8.99
Authoritarian
76
20.39
8.67
Total
382
21.23
8.79
Lack of self-
knowledge
Authoritative
70
16.29
7.24
4.88**
Neglectful
139
19.15
6.72
Indulgent
97
18.86
7.65
Authoritarian
76
16.24
5.72
Total
382
17.97
6.99
Lack of occupation
and field knowled-
ge
Authoritative
70
17.41
7.11
3.88**
Neglectful
139
20.37
6.57
Indulgent
97
19.75
7.35
Authoritarian
76
18.03
6.52
Total
382
19.21
6.94
Irrrational beliefs
about career choice
Authoritative
70
7.61
3.49
1.44
Neglectful
139
8.53
3.55
Indulgent
97
8.62
3.91
Authoritarian
76
8.02
3.35
Total
382
8.28
3.60
External conflicts
Authoritative
70
8.54
3.33
1.89
Neglectful
139
9.52
4.21
Indulgent
97
9.57
3.86
Authoritarian
76
8.58
3.99
Total
382
9.17
3.94
*p<.05, ** p<.01
In the “lack of occupation and field knowledge” sub-scale scores, significant
differences were found between the students who perceived their parents as authoritative
(M=17.41) and those who perceived their parents as neglectful (M=20.37) and, between the
students who perceived their parents as indulgent (M=19.75). Also, there were significant
difference between the students who perceived their parents as authoritarian (M=18.03) and
neglectful (M=20.37). Using the LSD method, as to career decision scores, the results yielded
High school students’ career decision-making pattern across parenting styles and parental attachment levels
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 8(1), 263-280. 2010 (nº 20). ISSN: 1696-2095. - 273 -
significant differences between the students who perceived their parents as authoritative
(M=70.29) and those who perceived their parents as neglectful (M=78.60) and, between the
students who perceived their parents as indulgent (M=79.51). Significant differences were
also found in the students who perceived their parents as authoritarian (M=71.26) and those
who perceived their parents as neglectful (M=78.60) and, between the students who perceived
their parents as indulgent (M=79.51).
Table 2. Career indecision levels of high school students according to the level
of their parental attachment
Parental attachment levels
N
Mean
SD
F value
Career indecision
Parental attachment – low
64
82.81
25.90
4.89**
Parental attachment - medium
252
73.11
25.13
Parental attachment –high
66
79.56
20.58
Total
382
75.85
24.79
Internal conflicts
Parental attachment – low
64
23.15
9.52
3.27*
Parental attachment - medium
252
20.42
8.73
Parental attachment –high
66
22.45
7.96
Total
382
21.23
8.79
Lack of self-
knowledge
Parental attachment – low
64
19.25
7.23
3.60*
Parental attachment - medium
252
17.29
7.05
Parental attachment –high
66
19.35
6.19
Total
382
17.97
6.99
Lack of occupation
and field knowledge
Parental attachment – low
64
20.87
6.66
3.25*
Parental attachment - medium
252
18.59
7.08
Parental attachment –high
66
19.95
6.41
Total
382
19.21
6.94
Irrrational beliefs
about career choice
Parental attachment – low
64
9.25
3.75
4.73**
Parental attachment - medium
252
7.89
3.60
Parental attachment –high
66
8.84
3.23
Total
382
8.28
3.60
External conflicts
Parental attachment – low
64
10.30
3.92
3.19*
Parental attachment - medium
252
8.93
3.93
Parental attachment –high
66
8.97
3.88
Total
382
99.17
3.94
*p<.05, ** p<.01
As seen in the Table 2, results of one way ANOVA demonstrated that, there were
significant differences between parental attachment levels in terms of students’ levels of
“internal conflicts” (F(2,381) = 3.27, p<.05) “lack of self-knowledge” (F(2,381) = 3.60, p<.05)
“lack of occupation and field knowledge” (F(2, 381) = 3.25, p<.05) “irrrational beliefs about
career choice” (F(2, 381)=4.73, p<.01) “external conflicts” (F(2, 381) =3.19, p<.05) and “career
decision” (F(2, 381)=4.89, p<.01). To elucidate the exact source of the difference, the LSD
Fulya Cenkseven-Önder et al.
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results were scrutinized. LSD results indicated that, in career decision and its all sub-scales,
there were significant differences between the students having low level of parental
attachment and those having avarage level of parental attachment (p<.05). Also, in the “lack
of self-knowledge” sub-scale, significant differences were found between the students having
average level of parental attachment and those having high level of parental attachment
(p<.05). However, there were no significant differences between the students having high
level of parental attachment and the students having low and average parental attachment in
terms of their “internal conflicts”, “lack of occupation and field knowledge”, “irrrational
beliefs about career choice”, “external conflicts” and “career decision” scores.
Discussion
In lack of self-knowledge, lack of occupation and field knowledge sub-scales, and also
in total scores of CDI, students coming from more authoritative and authoritarian families
were found more decisive than the ones coming from neglectful and indulgent families. These
findings would be due to the fact that authoritative families show their love to their children
while controling and directing them (Lamborn et al. 1991). Consistent with these results,
former research results has also showed that authoritative style is positively associated with
exploration of self and environment in adolescence (Kracke, 1997). This condition would
have contributed to student’s knowledge of themselves and their career decisions.
Authoritative parents show warmth toward and interest in their adolescents as well as laying
down rules. They should stimulate the adolescent to search for educational and vocational
information, in order to foster their autonomies (Vignoli, Croity-Belz, Chapeland, Fillipis &
Garcia, 2005). Furthermore, neglectful and indulgent families do not support their children in
their career decisions. In related literature, similar results were found. For instance, neglectful
parents who showed no interest in their adolescents’ school and career plans, and do not lay
down rules, would discourage their adolescents’ exploratory activities. The more neglectful
the families were, the less frequently did adolescents request information from family
members and the less diversified were their visits to career counseling centers and talks with
professionals (Eigen, Hartman, & Hartman, 1987; Vignoli et al., 2005).
An unexpected result was that children of authoritarian parents were found more
decisive when compared with the children of neglectful and indulgent parents. This may have
High school students’ career decision-making pattern across parenting styles and parental attachment levels
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 8(1), 263-280. 2010 (nº 20). ISSN: 1696-2095. - 275 -
resulted due to the fact that authoritarian parents make choices on behalf of their children and
the children from such families accept their parents’ choices as their own. According to
Marcia’s identity status theory, children from authoritarian families are in foreclosure identity
status and do not experience decision (Senemoğlu, 2007).
In internal and external conflicts, and irrational beliefs about career choice sub-scales
of CDI, children of more authoritative and authoritarian parents were found more decisive
than the ones from neglectful and indulgent families. However, the levels were not at
significant levels. Since the perceptions of the individuals are more effective than the situation
itself in terms of cognitive process such as irrational beliefs and conflicts (Beck, 1979; Ellis
ve Harper, 1975; Beck, 1995), other factors rather than the parenting syles would have been
more effective on these dimensions of indecisiveness. Factors which were found effective on
career indecision are anxiety (Hartman & Fuqua, 1983; Jones, 1989), personality (Cohen,
Chartland & Jowdy, 1995; Newman, Gray & Fuqua, 1999), and self-efficacy (Taylor & Betz,
1983).
In all sub-scales of CDI, students who experienced a medium degree of attachment to
their parents were found more decisive than the ones experiencing low or high degree of
attachment. There are findings that a moderate degree of attachment is a more healthy
condition for the individuals to develop in parent-child relationships. For example, Felsman
and Blustein (1999) determined that individuals who maintain a moderate attachment to
mother were more likely to have explored their social environment and to have progressed in
committing to career choices. Likewise, high school female students who experienced a
moderate degree of attachment to their mothers, relied on their mothers to assist in managing
their personal affairs, felt emotionally close to their mothers, and shared similar beliefs and
attitudes with their mothers and fathers were found to possess very strong career self-efficacy
beliefs (O’Brien, 1996). Further research should explore the explanation of career decision in
terms of parenting styles and attachment levels for different gender and age groups in order to
identify relevant determinants at each age level and for females and males separately.
Fulya Cenkseven-Önder et al.
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