Dysfunctional Career Thought as a Cognitive Mechanism in the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy among Malaysian Secondary School Students.
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Abstract
Adolescents’ confidence in making career decisions may not only depends on positive self-evaluations but also on the career-related cognitions through which uncertainty is interpreted. This study examined whether dysfunctional career thought statistically mediates the association between self-esteem and career decision-making self-efficacy among 381 Form Four students secondary schools in Kedah, Perlis, Penang, and Perak, Malaysia. Self-esteem was assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, dysfunctional career thought using 28 items across three dimensions of the Career Thoughts Inventory, and career decision-making self-efficacy using the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form. Partial least squares structural equation modelling with 10,000 bootstrap subsamples showed that self-esteem was negatively associated with dysfunctional career thought (β = −.436, p < .001), while dysfunctional career thought was negatively associated with career decision-making self-efficacy (β = −.208, p = .001). The direct association between self-esteem and career decision-making self-efficacy remained significant (β = .130, p = .047), and the specific indirect effect through dysfunctional career thought was significant (β = .091, p = .001), consistent with complementary partial mediation. The findings connect Social Cognitive Career Theory with the Cognitive Information Processing approach and suggest that school-based career counselling may benefit from addressing dysfunctional career cognitions alongside self-evaluation and decision-making skills. Because the data were cross-sectional, the indirect effect should not be interpreted as causal mediation
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