Purpose in Life and Career Indecision as Predictors of Academic Success in College

1 online resource (111 pages) : PDF

2011

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

The purpose of this study was to examine how purpose in life (exciting life and purposeful life) and career indecision (lack of structure and confidence, perceived external barriers, approach-approach conflict, and personal conflict) related to cumulative GPA and persistence of college freshmen. A total of 101 freshmen students from a southern public university were included in this research study. Participants completed two paper and pencil instruments which included the Purpose in Life Test (Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1969), the Career Decision Scale (Osipow, Carney, Winer, Yanico, & Koschier, 1976), and a demographic questionnaire. Students' cumulative GPA and persistence to the sophomore year were assessed through the Registrar's Office and were used as the dependent variables. Standard multiple regression and logistic regression were conducted to analyze the data. The analyses indicated that two of the six independent variables made a statistically significant contribution to the prediction of cumulative GPA, purposeful life (â = .39; p < .01) and approach-approach conflict (â = .26, p < .05). There were no statistically significant relationships found in prediction of students' persistence. These findings suggest that college freshmen who are more purposeful are more likely to have higher cumulative GPAs at the end of their freshman year. Additionally, the degree to which individuals experienced having approach-approach conflict, signifying difficulty in choosing from several viable occupational options, also influences cumulative GPA. The findings also suggest that: (a) career counselors, student affairs staff, and higher education administrators need to gain a deeper understanding of how purpose in life and career indecision influence students academic performance, (b) career counselors need to be trained in existential approaches to career counseling, specifically in how to help students choose careers that will align with their life purpose, (c) career counselors need to pay more attention to differentiating between the reasons for career indecision and work with other departments on campus to have the best outcomes in working with students, and (d) since results of this study pointed out to approach-approach conflict as statistically significant predictor of cumulative GPA, both career counselors and academic services need to be aware of the importance of motivating students by making them aware of how many more options they will have open based on their academic performance.

doctoral dissertations

Education
Counseling psychology

Ph.D.

Career Indecision
College Students
Persistence
Purpose in Life

Counseling

Post, Phyllis

Flowers, Claudia
Furr, Susan
Wierzalis, Edward
Brody, Charles

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2011.

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OliveraCeldran_uncc_0694D_10250

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:154