Career decision-making difficulties in adolescents: the role of parental perfectionism, irrational career beliefs and intolerance of uncertainty

This study examined the relationship between parental expectations, parental criticism, irrational career beliefs, intolerance of uncertainty, and career decision-making difficulties. The research sample comprised 470 high school students. The results indicated that parental expectations negatively influence career decision-making difficulties while positively correlating with parental criticism and irrational career beliefs. Furthermore, parental criticism was positively associated with both irrational career beliefs and intolerance of uncertainty. Both irrational career beliefs and intolerance of uncertainty positively correlated with career decision-making difficulties. Additionally, parental expectations had an indirect relationship with career decision-making difficulties through irrational career beliefs and intolerance of uncertainty. These findings suggest that the cognitive and emotional impacts of parental expectations and critical attitudes complicate the career decision-making process for adolescents. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop a more comprehensive intervention strategy that facilitates adolescents’ career decision-making within the framework of familial attitudes. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.