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Research Paper
The International Journal of Indian Psychology
ISSN 2348-5396 (Online) | ISSN: 2349-3429 (Print)
Volume 11, Issue 4, October- December, 2023
DIP: 18.01.032.20231104, DOI: 10.25215/1104.032
https://www.ijip.in
© 2023, Sengupta, R. & Datta, S.; licensee IJIP. This is an Open Access Research distributed under the terms of
the Creative Commons Attribution License (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any Medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Career Decision-Making Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear
of Covid-19 And Future Anxiety Among College and University
Students: A Cross-Disciplinary Study
Roshni Sengupta
1
*, Sumona Datta
2
ABSTRACT
A review of previous literature suggests that a negatively-significant relationship exists
between career decision-making difficulties and college self-efficacy within students, but
studies inspecting the association of these factors with future anxiety and the new-normal life
have been scarce. Present study therefore aims to investigate the Career Decision-Making
Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19 and Future Anxiety among College and
University Students. Data were collected, in the year 2021, from 200 adults (Mean age= 19.75,
SD= 1.70, 63% females), all college and university students (95% undergraduates) of different
disciplines by administering (a) Career-Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire developed
by Gati et al. (1996), (b) College Self-Efficacy Questionnaire developed by Solberg et al.
(1993), (c) Fear of Covid-19 Scale developed by Ahorsu et al. (2020) and (d) Future Anxiety
Scale developed by Zaleski (1996). Statistical analysis included Descriptive Statistics,
Correlation Analysis and Regression Analysis. Findings revealed that fear of Covid-19 is
negatively-correlated to, while future anxiety is positively-correlated to career decision-making
difficulties. And college-efficacy is weakly correlated to, but not predicting career decision-
making difficulties. Further, Multiple Regression Analysis shows that only future anxiety
significantly predicts career decision-making difficulties (β=0.60, p<0.001), explaining 35%
variance in the career decision-making difficulties. The study findings shed light on the
mechanism in which the career decision-making of the university students is getting affected
due to future anxiety. It is important to note that fear of Covid-19 hardly impacts the career
decision-making of the students but it is their future anxiety that is playing a cardinal role.
Keywords: Career Decision-Making Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19,
Future Anxiety
college student is faced with various decision-making difficulties and potential life-
long decisions are established. Due to the fear of the Covid-19 situation, forming
sound career choices and maintaining college self-efficacy have become quite
demanding; giving rise to anxiety regarding one’s future, and presenting the students with
newer challenges which never existed earlier. Existing literature suggests that a negatively-
significant relationship exists between career decision-making difficulties and college self-
1
Undergraduate Student, Dept. of Psychology, Adamas University, Kolkata, India
2
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychology, Government General Degree College, Singur, India
*Corresponding Author
Received: September 01, 2023; Revision Received: October 14, 2023; Accepted: October 18, 2023
A
Career Decision-Making Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19 And Future Anxiety
Among College and University Students: A Cross-Disciplinary Study
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 337
efficacy. Present study, therefore aims towards investigating the Career Decision-Making
Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19 and Future Anxiety among College and
University Students.
Career Decision-Making Difficulties in Students
Career decision-making difficulties are the internal and external conflicts faced before
and during the career determination process. This is a time when an individual is mighty
confused regarding their choice of stream, in terms of what will be best suited for them,
when will be affordable, what matches their personality, etc. As observed by Amir and Gati
(2006), career choices made by individuals in early adulthood “have significant implications
on their lifestyle and personal and occupational life satisfaction” (Amir & Gati, 2006,
p.483). According to Zhou and Santos, career decision-making difficulty is an important
aspect in “framing and understanding factors contributing to an individual’s career
development” (Zhou & Santos, 2007, p.220).
College Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is “the belief in one's ability to successfully perform a given behavior which is
required to produce certain outcomes” or “people's beliefs in their capabilities to produce
given attainments”. The concept of self-efficacy finds significance in Albert Bandura’s
(1986) Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Efficacy Theory. According to Bandura (1989), an
individual’s self-efficacy beliefs can either “enhance or impair his or her academic or social
performance by affecting thoughts, emotions, motivations and selection processes” (as cited
in Jenkins, 2007). College self-efficacy, however, is domain specific and is associated with
self-efficacy beliefs in an academic setting.
Future Anxiety
Future anxiety, is a state of apprehension, fear, uncertainty and anxiety of undesired changes
expected to occur in the future. Future anxiety is one factor that has been typically related
to career indecision. And self-efficacy, as related to career decision-making constitutes
topical concerns of much of the college decidedness literature. Future anxiety is considered
one of the “main features as a result of economic and social changes, and increasingly
emerges among university students not only because of the fear of failure in the study, but
also because of the fear of lack of job opportunities – the thing that affects joining their
specializations” (Hammad, 2016).
Relationship with Fear of Covid
The fear of Covid-19 pandemic is characterized by the constant and severe anxiety one faces
with regard to their possibility of catching the virus and facing the consequences. Due to the
outbreak of COVID-19, the mental health of the people all around the world is severely
disrupted and the future workforce is getting anxious about their career-decisions. Thus, in
the present study we’ll explore how the above-mentioned factors influence career decision-
making in college and university students.
The widespread outbreak of SARS-Cov 2 causing a worldwide pandemic, has resulted in
governments implementing disease containment measures such as school closures, social
distancing, and home quarantine. A direct negative impact of these actions is being faced by
children and adolescents, especially students, who are being forced to stay in prolonged state
of physical isolation from their peers, teachers, extended families, and community networks.
In adults, negative psychological effects including confusion, anger, and posttraumatic
Career Decision-Making Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19 And Future Anxiety
Among College and University Students: A Cross-Disciplinary Study
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 338
distress is being caused by the prolonged quarantine (Brooks et al., 2020). A significant
result of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the shift to online classes. This transition to the
“new normal life” has proved to be stressful in terms of academics in case of many students,
giving rise to feelings of career indecision, and future anxiety.
In 2013, Lydia Hurley found a negatively-significant relationship between career decision-
making difficulties and college self-efficacy within college students. This was found due to
the fact that students excelling in academics were seen to have higher levels of self-efficacy,
and they generally had a specific career path cut out for them. However, individual
differences also showed that few students having high college self-efficacy faced higher
levels of career decision-making difficulty as they had several career paths to choose from.
A negative correlation between future anxiety and academic specialization, and gender
differences in favor of males was found by Hammad in 2016. Differences in future anxiety
for Humanities students was also found. This study observes differences in attitudes and
behaviours towards specialization in favor of Science as specializations, however, gender
differences were absent here.
In 2020, Mahmud et al. found that due to the outbreak of COVID-19 people are becoming
depressed and anxious about their future career, creating a long-term negative effect on
human psychology. This was found due to the fact that a significant shift to online classes
and exams has decreased the possibility of acquired results to be deemed deserving.
Moreover, several applications-based subjects require hands on experience to be gained by a
college student, which the Covid situation did not permit. In addition, the economy has
taken a serious hit which may affect the pay structure of the future workforce.
And, Martinez et al. found that future anxiety and resilience are negatively significant in a
Covid-19 context.
A college student is faced with various decision-making difficulties and potential life-long
decisions are established. Due to the fear of the Covid-19 situation, forming sound career
choices and maintaining college self-efficacy have become quite demanding; giving rise to
anxiety regarding one’s future, and presenting the students with newer challenges which
never existed earlier. Existing literature suggests that a negatively-significant relationship
exists between career decision-making difficulties and college self-efficacy. Empirical
studies suggest that career decision-making difficulties and college self-efficacy are
negatively-significant, but studies inspecting the association of these factors with future
anxiety and the new-normal life have been scarce.
Present study, therefore aims towards investigating the Career Decision-Making
Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19 and Future Anxiety among College and
University Students.
METHODS
Participants:
Data were collected from 200 adults, all college and university students, of different
disciplines.
Career Decision-Making Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19 And Future Anxiety
Among College and University Students: A Cross-Disciplinary Study
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 339
Tools Used:
i. Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire
The Career Decision Making Difficulties Questionnaire or CDDQ, developed by Gati et al.
in 1996, is based on the taxonomy of Career Decision-Making Difficulties. It is a 34-item,
self-report measure, with 9-point rating categories ranging from “does not describe me” to
“describes me well”, and is used to validate the proposed taxonomy and to be a means for
locating the focuses of individuals’ career decision-making difficulties, a step that is
among the first in providing individuals with the help they need.
ii. College Self-Efficacy Questionnaire
The College Self-Efficacy Inventory or CSEI developed by Solberg et al. in 1993 is used to
examine the level of confidence students have in completing college related tasks. It is a 20-
item self-report measure, with a 10-point Likert type scale ranging from “not confident at
all” to “extremely confident”. The CSEI produces 3 subscales measuring course efficacy,
roommate efficiency, and social efficiency. By adding the individual subscale-scores, a total
of CSEI score can be obtained.
iii. Fear of Covid-19 Scale
The Fear of Covid-19 Scale developed by Ahorsu et al. in 2020, is a 7-item self-report
measure, where the participants indicate their level of agreement with the statements using a
five- item Likert type scale. Answers included “strongly disagree,” “disagree,” “neutral”
“agree” and “strongly agree”. The minimum score possible for each question is 1, and the
maximum is 5. A total score could be calculated by adding up each item score (ranged from
7 to 35). Statements include: “I am afraid of losing my life because of Corona.”; “When I
watch news and stories about Corona on social media, I become nervous or anxious.”
iv. Future Anxiety Scale
The Future Anxiety Scale developed by Zaleski in 1996 is a 29-item self-report measure,
using a seven-item Likert type scale, ranging from “Decidedly False” to “Decidedly True”.
It measures the tendency to think about the future with anxiety and uncertainty and to
anticipate disasters in the future. Statements include: “I am terrified by the thought that I
might sometimes face life’s crises or difficulties.”; “I tremble with fear at the thought of
what the next day. month, year will bring”; “I am disturbed by the possibility of a sudden
accident or serious illness (e.g. AIDS, cancer)”.
Procedure
Data were collected in an online survey method using Google Forms. Convenience sampling
procedure was followed. Informed consent was obtained from each participant before
collecting data. The information schedule contained information asking about the
participants’ name (in initials), age, sex, academic qualification, and mode of study adopted
by their respective institution. After data collection, data were cleaned and then analyzed
using appropriate statistical methods.
Statistical Analysis
Statistical analysis included Descriptive Statistics, Correlation Analysis and Regression
Analysis. Descriptive Statistics was done to summarize the data. Correlation Analysis &
Regression Analysis were done to explore the relationship among the variables.
Career Decision-Making Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19 And Future Anxiety
Among College and University Students: A Cross-Disciplinary Study
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 340
RESULTS
Descriptive statistics
Descriptive Statistics gave a basic insight into the raw data before formal statistical analyses.
Table 1. Mean and Standard Deviation of Career Decision-Making Difficulties, College
Self-Efficacy, Future Anxiety and Fear of Corona of students (n=200)
Variables
Mean
SD
Career Decision-Making Difficulties
164.60
63.99
College Self-Efficacy
137.05
35.51
Future Anxiety
94.70
32.48
Fear of Corona
22.70
7.63
Association between Career Decision-Making Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Future
Anxiety and Fear of Corona
Findings revealed that fear of Covid-19 is negatively-correlated to, while future anxiety is
positively-correlated to career decision-making difficulties. And, College-efficacy is weakly
correlated to, but not predicting career decision-making difficulties.
Table 2. Correlation matrix showing the relationship between Career Decision-Making
Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Future Anxiety and Fear of Corona (n=200)
Variables
1
2
3
4
1. Career Decision-Making Difficulties
1.00
2. College Self-Efficacy
-0.09
1.00
3. Future Anxiety
0.60**
-0.11
1.00
4. Fear of Corona
-0.31**
-0.16*
-0.47**
1.00
Prediction of Career Decision-Making Difficulties by College Self-Efficacy, Future
Anxiety and Fear of Corona
Multiple Regression Analysis shows that only future anxiety significantly predicts career
decision-making difficulties (β=0.60, p<0.001), at a significance value of less than 0.001,
explaining 35% variance in the career decision-making difficulties.
Table 3. Multiple regression analysis with Career Decision-Making Difficulties as
dependent variable
Predictors
Adjusted R
Square
F value
Beta
t-value
p-Value
College Self-Efficacy
0.35
22.67**
-0.25
-0.43
0.67
Future Anxiety
0.60
8.70**
0.0001
Fear of Corona
-0.03
-0.43
0.66
Age
0.007
0.12
0.90
Gender
-0.06
-1.04
0.30
**p<.0001
DISCUSSION
Here, Descriptive Statistics was used to describe and summarize the data. Correlation
analysis was used to determine whether positive, negative or no correlation existed between
the variables. We found that career decision-making difficulties is significantly and
positively predicted by future anxiety. Similar findings were obtained by Vignolli (2015), he
Career Decision-Making Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19 And Future Anxiety
Among College and University Students: A Cross-Disciplinary Study
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 341
found that adolescent career indecision and career exploration were positively and
significantly related to general trait anxiety and career anxiety. This occurs as the pressure of
choosing an effective and active career may provoke fear and uncertainty about the future,
and the future may become a source of anxiety as a result of the misperception of potential
events. Present study showed that college self-efficacy is weakly correlated to career
decision-making difficulties but not predicting it; although Lydia Hurley (2013) found
college self-efficacy to be negatively significant to career indecision. This change can be
explained due to the fact that, factors like Covid-19, which hiked a wave of future career
anxiety in young adults; did not exist back in 2013.
Multiple Regression Analysis was used to determine which factors matter most, which
factors can be ignored, and how these factors influence each other. It was seen that only
future anxiety predicted career indecision, the other factors didn’t. This occurred as there
can be ‘N’ number of other factors influencing the relationship but these factors are outside
the purview of present study. If we had considered those, we might have gotten a stronger
prediction. We also found that fear of Covid-19 is negatively correlated to career decision-
making difficulties. Although, Mahmud et al. (2020) found that without the presence of
depression, as a mediator, there exists a significant relationship between Fear of Covid-19
and future workforces’ career anxiety, but the presence of depression disproves this finding.
This difference in outcome in the present study can be as a result of the increased psychiatric
morbidity brought about by the onset of the 2nd wave of Covid-19, which acts as a mediator
between career indecision and future anxiety.
Findings will have implications in career counselling and more emphasis should be given on
dealing with future anxiety in students facing career indecision. Effective strategies for
managing future in students can be taken up by educational institutes as blended learning is
coming into practice, and students are going through another phase of transition, giving rise
to another set of new academic challenges.
A significant limitation of the research relates to the chosen sampling method. Convenience
sampling method was used due to time and money constrictions, which might have
decreased the statistical validity. Another limitation is the distribution of sample as it
predominantly consisted of Indian undergraduates, which might be overshadowing the
variations in responses (if any) by school students, postgraduates or Ph.D. students.
An evenly-distributed sample can be considered for future comparative studies. Future
studies could also incorporate new variables to provide further predictors of career
indecision. It is also recommended that future research be carried out to further investigate
the variation in responses by school and college students; and online versus offline learning.
CONCLUSION
The study findings shed light on the mechanism in which the career decision-making of the
university students is getting affected due to future anxiety. It is important to note that fear
of Covid-19 hardly impacts the career decision-making of the students but it is their future
anxiety that is playing a cardinal role.
Career Decision-Making Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19 And Future Anxiety
Among College and University Students: A Cross-Disciplinary Study
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 342
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Acknowledgment
The author(s) appreciates all those who participated in the study and helped to facilitate the
research process.
Conflict of Interest
The author(s) declared no conflict of interest.
How to cite this article: Sengupta, R. & Datta, S. (2023). Career Decision-Making
Difficulties, College Self-Efficacy, Fear of Covid-19 And Future Anxiety Among College
and University Students: A Cross-Disciplinary Study. International Journal of Indian
Psychology, 11(4), 336-342. DIP:18.01.032.20231104, DOI:10.25215/1104.032
