Identity Processing Styles, Psychological Capital and Career Decision Making Process in Adolescents: A Correlation Study

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing the relationship between identity processing styles, Psychological capital and Career decision making process in the adolescents.  All three variables have multiple sub factors and each of them is correlated with each other based on the hypotheses. 

All three identity styles viz. Informative, Normative and Committed have a significant relationship with academic Psychological capital. While, diffusion shows no significant relationship with academic PsyCap.

Informative style, Normative style and Committed style are the predictors of the career decision making pattern characterized by the information processing and use of intuitive guidance in adolescents. On contrary, diffusion shows the reverse and predicts lowest degrees of information processing as a significant feature of career decision making process. Diffused style of identity formation predicts lowest involvement of other people in consideration of the career choices and has no actual cognitive efforts involved by the adolescent in the process of career choice making. 

Desire to please others is seen to be a characteristic feature of career decision making in all the three identity styles except for the committed style. It is naturally explained by the meaning of committed style, which is when an adolescent has built his set of firm identity, he is lesser in need to gain acceptance from society and conform to the societal pressures. Thus, adolescent in committed style shows less desire to take decisions with intention to make others happy and are more accepting of themselves.