The Associations Between Career Decision-Making Difficulties and Negative Emotional States Ella Anghel 1 and Itamar Gati 2 Abstract Career decision-making difficulties are the challenges encountered by individuals before, during, or after choosing one’s career. This study tested the associations between career decision-making dif- ficulties and depression, anxiety, and stress, considering the career decision status of participants. Students in a precollege preparatory program filled out questionnaires at the beginning and near the end of the academic year (N ¼ 137). The correlations between career decision-making difficulties, as measured by the Career Decision-Making Difficulties, and negative emotional states measured by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales, were positive at both administrations (r T1 ¼ .24, r T2 ¼ .38). Using a multivariate analysis of variance, we have found that those who became more decided had fewer career decision-making difficulties (d ¼ 1.26). The changes in career decision status were not associated with either depression, anxiety, or stress. However, overall negative emotions intensified among students who were still undecided at the end of the year (d ¼ 0.72). Implications for research and practice are discussed. Keywords career decision-making difficulties, depression, anxiety, stress, career decision status Making career decisions is one of the most important tasks of adolescents and young adults (Arnett, 2000; Erikson, 1968) and can affect the individual’s economic and social status, lifestyle, and well- being (Gati & Tal, 2008). Many young adults find it difficult to advance in their career decision- making status (Osipow, 1999). The growing number of occupations, jobs, and career pathways can lead many young adults to feel challenged and overwhelmed by this important decision (Gati & Levin, 2014). Indeed, career decision-making difficulties are associated with feelings such as depression, anxiety, and stress (Reece, 2011; Saunders, Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon, 2000). Previous research has not looked at changes in the associations between career decision-making difficulties and these unpleasant emotions throughout the career decision-making process. The present study tested the 1 Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA 2 Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Corresponding Author: Itamar Gati, Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel. Email: itamar.gati@huji.ac.il Journal of Career Development 1-15 ª Curators of the University of Missouri 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0894845319884119 journals.sagepub.com/home/jcd