Indecisiveness and career indecision: A test of a theoretical model Paulo Jorge Santos a, ⁎, Joaquim Armando Ferreira b , Carlos Manuel Gonçalves c a Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Porto, Portugal b Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Coimbra, Portugal c Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Porto, Portugal article info abstract Article history: Received 24 March 2014 Available online 10 May 2014 Research on career indecision has emphasized the need to distinguish between normative indecision, which corresponds to a developmentally-appropriate state, and indecisiveness, a persistent problem in making decisions across multiple dimensions. This distinction is important in order to design appropriate interventions. These two types of indecision are related with two dimensions (decided–undecided and decisiveness–indecisiveness) that, if conceptualized as orthogonal, result in a diagnostic scheme with four groups (high or low in career decidedness and high or low in indecisiveness). The aim of this study was to test whether the four groups could be distinguished from each other with regard to cognitive and affective variables that have been used in career indecision research. A descriptive discriminant analysis was employed with a sample of secondary school students. The grouping variable effects of two significant functions are described and implications for career counseling and future research are discussed. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Career indecision Indecisiveness Taxonomy of career problems Career decision process Discriminant analysis 1. Introduction Career indecision, defined by Kelly and Lee (2002) as “the inability to specify an educational or occupational choice” (p. 322), is a classical topic of theoretical debate and research in vocational psychology (Crites, 1969; Gati et al., 2011; Holland & Holland, 1977; Osipow, 1999; Santos, 2007; Slaney, 1988). Initially, career indecision was conceptualized as a dichotomous construct (decided or undecided). However, from the mid-1960s, some authors began to sustain that career undecided individuals could present different profiles. A previous assessment of its characteristics was particularly important in order to provide appropriate intervention for clients with different needs. Two main types of career indecision were identified. The first was developmental indecision, a transitory phase of the vocational decision-making process. This type of indecision is considered a normative period of development and can be seen as the inevitable consequence of a stage of career exploration, according to career developmental theories (Super, 1957; Tiedeman, 1961). The second type of indecision, indecisiveness, also called chronic career indecision (Fuqua & Hartman, 1983; Hartman & Fuqua, 1983), is considered a trait and is not exclusive to the career domain. It is a pervasive type of indecision that is present in other domains of life. At the same time, several psychological characteristics, suggesting less adaptive levels of psychological adjustment, were indicative that indecisiveness should not be considered a normative type of indecision (e.g., Santos, 2001). Earlier authors (Crites, 1969, 1981; Fuqua & Hartman, 1983; Goodstein, 1972; Hartman & Fuqua, 1983; Holland & Holland, 1977; Tyler, 1969) described quite accurately indecisiveness and developmental indecision. Paul Salomone (1982) wrote a seminal article on this matter in the early 1980s. He proposed that vocational decision–indecision should be conceptualized as a construct that comprised two states: decidedness–undecidedness and indecisiveness–decisiveness. Each of these two states is Journal of Vocational Behavior 85 (2014) 106–114 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Porto, Via Panorâmica, s/n, 4150-564 Porto, Portugal. E-mail address: pjsosantos@sapo.pt (P.J. Santos). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.05.004 0001-8791/© 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Vocational Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvb