Factors Affecting Teenagers’ Career Indecision in Southern Switzerland

In contemporary western societies making the first career choice after lower secondary education is not always easy and the number of undecided teenage students is increasing. Career indecision can push students to avoid decisions or to make “wrong” decisions which can affect their professional life, both in the short and long term. The purpose of the study presented here is to detect and describe relations between some personal characteristics, personality, self-esteem, perceived social support and career indecision, in order to highlight and understand which elements have greater influence on teenagers’ career indecision in southern Switzerland. A longitudinal study has been designed: specific questionnaires were administered to 8th grade students, and will be repeated to the same students at the beginning and at the end of their 9th grade. Preliminary results indicate that some personality traits and self-esteem are significant predictors of career indecision. Moreover, self-esteem partially moderate the relationship between personality and career indecision.