Journal of Vocational Behavior 75 (2009) 91–99

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Journal of Vocational Behavior

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvb

Inter-relationships among attachment to mother and father,

self-esteem, and career indecision
Vignoli Emmanuelle *
National Institute for Work and Vocational Guidance Research, Paris, France

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study investigated the mediating role of adolescents’ global self-esteem, based on the
Received 3 April 2009 relationship between adolescents’ mother or father attachment and their career indecision;
Available online 6 May 2009 as well as the mediating role of adolescents’ career indecision on the relationship between
mother or father attachment and self-esteem. Two hundred and forty-one adolescents
completed a self-report questionnaire that measured the difficulty in making decisions
Keywords: about their future academic and vocational careers, their global self-esteem, and their
Attachment
attachment to their parents. Results showed that the more adolescents felt attached to
Self-esteem
Career indecision
their mother and father the easier it was for them to make career decisions. The self-
Career development esteem mediation hypothesis is supported as a function of parent and adolescent gender.
Adolescence Similarly, the mediating role of career indecision is confirmed and depends on the gender
Gender differences of both parents and adolescents. Interpersonal context, identity development, adolescent
career development and the relationship between them are discussed.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

1.1. Career indecision in adolescence

A major developmental tasks during adolescence and emerging adulthood is the exploration, selection and commitment
to a career choice (Erikson, 1972; Super, Savickas, & Super, 1996). According to Crites (1969), indecision means being unable
to make a choice or being uncertain about one’s choice in a situation that requires making choices. Career indecision is a
major concern for career psychologists and adolescence is one of life’s transition periods where career plans must be made.
Adolescence, especially middle and late adolescence, can be characterized by potential difficulties in making decisions (e.g.,
Crites, 1969). Career indecision is closely related to the school and social contexts in which career choices are determined
(Neice & Bradley, 1979).
Despite high levels of peer influence during adolescence, parents continue to play a major role in the psychosocial
development and adjustment of their children (Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg, & Dornbusch, 1991; Noller, 1994), especially
in their career development (e.g., Bordin, Nachman, & Segal, 1963; Kracke, 1997; Palladino-Schultheiss & Blustein, 1994;
Palmer & Cochran, 1988; Young, 1994). Several previous studies have shown that adolescent career development can
be influenced by the quality of the adolescent–parent relationship (Blustein, Wallbridge, Friedlander, Palladino, 1991;
Ketterson & Bustein, 1997; O’Brien, 1996; Scott & Church, 2001; Vignoli, Croity-Belz, Chapeland, De Philippis, & Garcia,
2005). Parental attachment can be used to examine the quality of the parent–adolescent relationship and its contribution
to the adolescent’s career decision-making processes.

* Address: INETOP, 41 rue Gay-Lussac, 75005 Paris, France.

E-mail address: emmanuelle.vignoli@cnam.fr

0001-8791/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2009.04.007
92 V. Emmanuelle / Journal of Vocational Behavior 75 (2009) 91–99

1.2. Attachment, identity development and career indecision

In line with Bowlby’s (1978, 1982) view of attachment as a life span need, numerous empirical studies have supported the
positive influence secure attachment to parents has on adolescents’ development and adjustment. Throughout the various
broad and normative changes that appear during adolescence, secure attachment to parents provides a source of support
for self-exploration and for the mastering developmental tasks. The role of parent–adolescent attachment is especially
important during developmental transitions, such as school transitions that are perceived by adolescents as threatening,
as well as other new and unfamiliar situations (e.g., Larose & Boivin, 1998; Papini & Rogman, 1992). According to Blustein,
Prezioso, and Schultheiss (1995), when making career choices one might encounter a fear of commitment or feelings of loss
regarding non-pursued career options. The provision of felt security should promote career development including career
decision making, by reducing the anxiety or the emotional stress elicited by the career choice process.
The development of a coherent ego-identity is another major developmental tasks in adolescence, especially during mid-
dle and late adolescence (e.g., Bernstein, 1980; Erikson, 1972; Harter, 1983; Harter & Monsour, 1992). The nature and quality
of parent–adolescent relationships play an important role in ego-identity development (e.g., Grotevant & Cooper, 1985;
Noller, 1994; Rice, 1990). Self-esteem defined as a judgment of self-worth (Coopersmith, 1967; Rosenberg, 1979), is a com-
ponent of ego-identity development related to adolescent development and adjustment (e.g., Harper & Marshall, 1991;
Harter, 1990; Rosenberg, 1979). As a rule, higher self-esteem relates to better school adjustment (Seiffge-Krenke, 1992;
Tyszkowa, 1990; Zeidner & Hammer, 1990). Moreover, in accordance with Bowlby’s (1978, 1982) theory, children or adoles-
cents with secure attachment to their parents, view themselves as worthy of love and caring. Secure attachment promotes a
positive view of one’s self, and hence should be related to higher self-esteem. Thus, for Bowlby, the quality of the attachment
determines coherent identity development, and especially self-esteem levels. Several studies confirmed Bowlby’s hypothesis
wherein adolescents reporting secure attachment to parents experienced high levels of self-worth (e.g., Armsden &
Greenberg, 1987; Papini & Rogman, 1992) and became secure people with a more positive, coherent and well-organized
self-structure (Mikulincer, 1995).
According to Blustein et al. (1995), attachment security should promote adaptive ego-identity development by facilitating
risk-taking and exploration processes that are central to identity formation and career development. Several earlier studies
support this hypothesis. The quality of the parent–adolescent relationship or some degree of parent attachment, facilitate
the adolescent’s involvement in the complex and challenging tasks required for committing to a career choice (Blustein
et al., 1991; Kenny, 1990; Palmer & Cochran, 1988). Theoretical and empirical research has shown that identity development
is related to career development (e.g., Blustein, 1994; Blustein, Devenis, & Kidney, 1989; Erikson, 1972; Lucas, 1997). More
specifically, global self-esteem was negatively related to career indecision or positively related to career decision self-effi-
cacy (Betz & Klein, 1996; Dosnon, Wach, Blanchard, & Lallemand, 1997; Smith & Betz, 2002).
As far as we know, only one published study examined the influence of attachment on career indecision. Tokar, Withrow,
Hall, and Moradi (2003) showed that vocational self-concept crystallization mediates young adults’ relationship between
attachment anxiety and career indecision. Contrary to their hypothesis, secure attachment did not contribute to the predic-
tion of career indecision through the vocational self-concept crystallization effect. Tokar et al. (2003), as well as other career
development process studies, regard identity or some of its components as mediating variable between attachment and
career indecision. More specifically, attachment relationships with parents that evolve from early infancy and result in se-
cure identity development, contributes to career development and career decision. It can also be argued that self-esteem will
mediates or partially mediates the relation between attachment to one’s mother (or father) and career indecision. Blustein
(2003), in a comment on the article by Tokar et al. (2003), emphasized the mediating role of career decisiveness as well as the
mediating role of identity between the family relationship variable and career decisiveness. Blustein noted that some the-
ories like Erikson’s theory (1972), argued that decisional processes about a career choice can consolidate adolescent identity
development or self-concept. Selecting and committing to a career choice represents a transition into adulthood. By doing so
the adolescent could increase his or her self-worth and contribute to better identity development. As we mentioned earlier,
identity development is influenced by the closeness and the quality of adolescents’ relationships with their family members
(e.g., Grotevant & Cooper, 1985; Noller, 1994; Rice, 1990). It can therefore be argued that career indecision mediates or par-
tially mediates the relation between the adolescents’ attachment to their mother (or to their father) and the adolescents’
self-esteem.

1.3. Gender differences in adolescent–parent relationships

The nature and quality of adolescent–parent relationships could depend on both parent and adolescent gender. Findings,
with respect to the relative influence of mother and father attachment on different adjustment outcomes, are inconsistent. In
previous studies (e.g., Gomez & McLaren, 2007; Kenny & Gallagher, 2002; Paterson, Pryor, Field, 1995; Papini & Rogman,
1992), mother and father attachment, measured separately, were not considered as fulfilling different psychological func-
tions. Some researchers however, have suggested making a distinction between father attachment and mother attachment
because of the differential contributions they each make to adolescent psychological functioning and adjustment (e.g., Rice,
Cunnigam, & Young, 1997; Buist, Dekovic, Meeus, & Van Aken, 2002). Studies that emphasized differences between the
effects of mother and father attachment showed a stronger impact of father attachment on well being or social competence.
 V. Emmanuelle / Journal of Vocational Behavior 75 (2009) 91–99 93

Results concerning the effect of adolescent gender differences on levels of parental attachment and its subsequent effect on
psychological adjustment have been inconclusive too. Several studies found no significant differences between son and daugh-
ter parent attachment reports (e.g., Armsden, McCauley, Greenberg, Burke, & Mitchell, 1990; Lapsley, Rice & Fitzgerald, 1990;
Blustein et al., 1991; Vignoli et al., 2005), while others found higher attachment scores for daughters than for sons (e.g., Benson,
Harris, & Rogers, 1992; Kenny & Donaldson, 1991). However, in some of these studies, mother and father attachment were not
measured separately. Regarding the differential importance of parental attachment for boys and girls, findings are inconclusive.
Consistent with previous theories (Erikson, 1972; Josselson, 1987), several researchers found that parental attachment has
more importance for girls identity development (Benson et al., 1992), well-being (Kenny & Donaldson, 1991), progress in devel-
opmental tasks resolution (Palladino-Schultheiss & Blustein, 1994), or career exploration (Vignoli, Croity-Belz, Chapeland, De
Philippis, & Garcia, 2005), than for boys. Other researchers reported a significant relationship between parental attachment and
psychological adjustment for boys but not for girls (Palladino-Schultheiss & Blustein, 1994; Kenny & Donaldson, 1991), while
others reported similar results for boys and girls (Kenny, Moilanen, Lomax & Brabeck, 1993).
One possible reason for these inconsistency of the findings is linked to not taking into consideration the adolescent’s gen-
der as well as the parent’s gender, the gender of each member of the dyad. Previous studies showed that patterns of inter-
action in family relationships depend both on parent and adolescent gender (e.g., Lamb, 1981; Montemayor, 1982; Youniss &
Smollar, 1985). In these studies, the parents, and especially the fathers, appeared to give preferential treatment in relation-
ships with same-sex adolescents. Fathers were found to be more involved in their sons’ lives, shared more activities and
spent much more time with them while mothers spent only slightly more time with their daughters. Girls’ relationships with
their fathers are described as being emotionally distant with little sharing of activities. By contrast, girls’ relationships with
their mothers are perceived as being more symmetrical and intimate. Consistent with gender role socialization, Paa and
McWhiter (2000) found that the same-sex parent was perceived by girls and boys as the most influential on their current
career expectations. These results support an individuated conception, of family interactions and, as suggested by Ross
and Spinner (2001) taking into account the specific characteristics of dyadic relationships in attachment measures. Accord-
ing to Grotevant and Cooper (1985), an individuated relationship, characterized by individuality and connectedness, contrib-
utes to adolescent identity development by providing family members a context for exploring and clarifying individual
points of view.

1.4. The present study

Based on the theoretical framework presented above, two complementary hypotheses were formulated (see Fig. 1). The
first hypothesis examines the possible mediating role of self-esteem, as a component of adolescent identity, on the relation-
ship between adolescents’ attachment to their parents and their career indecision. We suggest that secure attachment to
one’s mother or father, influenced by the positive effect of attachment on self-esteem, relates to lower career indecision.
In the second hypothesis we expected that career indecision will mediates parent–adolescent attachment relationships with
adolescent self-esteem. Furthermore, we suggest that secure adolescent mother or father attachment relates to lower career

Fig. 1. Illustration of the two complementary mediator hypotheses.

94 V. Emmanuelle / Journal of Vocational Behavior 75 (2009) 91–99

indecision that would in turn lead to higher adolescent self-esteem. In addition, we supposed that the mediation hypotheses
are function of the various parent and adolescent gender combinations. Dyadic family relationships (mother–daughter,
mother–son, father–daughter, father–son) will be taken into account for each hypothesis to determine if the relationship be-
tween attachment, self-esteem and career indecision is the same for all dyadic relationships, or if it depends on same-sex
relationships more than on opposite-sex relationships.

2. Method

2.1. Participants

Two hundred and forty-one adolescents (55.19% girls) between 15 to 19 years old, with a mean of 16.78 (SD = 0.55), par-
ticipated in the study. Most of the adolescents were middle or upper middle class. Approximately 40% of them were lower
class. All the adolescents were in their second to last year of high school, close to the transition from high school to university
but in a grade in which they were not yet forced to make career choices. They were recruited from two public high schools in
the South of France. The school administration asked the classes to participate in a study on career guidance. All students
agreed to participate and all had parental consent.

2.2. Measures

2.2.1. Career indecision

The 22-item Likert-type career indecision questionnaire constructed by Germeijs and De Boeck (2002, 2003) was translated
into French (Degiovanni, D., Palix, M., & Pichon-Picard, H., 2005) and used to measure career indecision. An English native speak-
er, familiar with the content of the scale, back translated the items. Participants were presented with the French version of the
scale. They answered questions that evaluated their capacity to make decisions about possible future studies and professions
(e.g., ‘‘I find it easy to make decisions”). As in Germeijs and De Boeck (2002), several descriptors for the difficulty in making deci-
sions were assessed; including tendencies to not know how to make decisions, to feel uncertain, to take a long time deciding,
delay making decisions, avoid making decisions, leaving decisions to someone else, worrying about decisions that were made,
regretting decisions that were made, and calling oneself indecisive regarding the future school and career contexts. Participants
responded to the items on a seven-point scale from 0 (‘‘strongly disagree”) to 6 (‘‘strongly agree”). Higher scores indicate greater
career indecision. The Cronbach’alpha coefficient was .84 after removing item 12 and 20.

2.2.2. Adolescent parent attachment

Participants answered a French-validated 19-item version of the parent and peer attachment inventory (Armsden &
Greenberg, 1987; Vignoli & Mallet, 2004). This scale was used to assess the degree of the adolescents’ attachment to their
mother and father separately on a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (‘‘almost never or never”) to 5 (‘‘almost always
or always”). This inventory was composed of three subscales: trust (e.g., ‘‘My mother respects my feelings”), communication
(e.g., ‘‘My mother encourages me to talk about my problems”) and alienation (e.g., ‘‘My mother doesn’t understand what I’m
going through these days”). Global scores were calculated. Higher scores indicate greater parent attachment. The reliability
of the global scale was .93 and .94 for attachment to mother and to father, respectively.

2.2.3. Global self-esteem

The self-esteem rating scale is a 10-item self-report questionnaire (e.g., ‘‘I am generally satisfied with myself”) that mea-
sures adolescents’ global self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1979). The French version of this scale was previously validated and used
by Bourcet (1994). Each item is rated on a four-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (‘‘Completely false”) to 4 (‘‘Completely
true”). High scores on the Rosenberg scale indicate greater global self-esteem. Scale internal consistency was high, with a .89
alpha coefficient.

2.3. Procedure

Participants completed all the questionnaires in one session and in the following order: career indecision, attachment to
mother and father, global self-esteem. They completed the questionnaire after agreeing to participate in the study and present-
ing a signed parental consent slip. The study was conducted during school hours, instead of the participants’ regular class ses-
sion. The adolescents were assured confidentiality and were debriefed about the study with completion of the questionnaires.

3. Results

3.1. Preliminary analyses

Means and standard deviations were calculated for each measure. As we can see in Table 1, the adolescents showed mod-
erately high mean scores for self-esteem and mother and father attachment. Furthermore, career indecision scores were
 V. Emmanuelle / Journal of Vocational Behavior 75 (2009) 91–99 95

Table 1
Means and standard deviations of mother and father attachment, career indecision, and self-esteem measures for boys, for girls, and for the entire samples.

Sex Total sample

Girls Boys
M SD M SD M SD
Mother attachment 3.49 0.96 3.53 0.8 3.5 0.89
Father attachment 2.99 0.96 3.32 1.01 3.14 0.99
Self-esteem 2.55 0.63 2.88 0.61 2.7 0.64
Career indecision 2.71 0.93 2.4 0.9 2.57 0.93

moderately low. We used t-tests to examine gender differences. There were no differences between girls and boys on mother
attachment scores. On the other hand boys scored higher than girls on father attachment measure, t (229) = 2.49, p < .01.
Boys also showed higher global self-esteem scores than girls (t (239) = 4.17, p < .0001). Finally, the girls described themselves
as more career indecisive than the boys did (t (239) = 2.64 p < .01).
Before testing the hypotheses, we examined the correlation between attachment, global self-esteem and career indecision
(Table 2). As expected, mother attachment and father attachment correlated significantly and negatively with career inde-
cision. Furthermore, both mother and father attachment were significantly and positively related to adolescent self-esteem,
and self-esteem related was significantly and negatively related to career indecision.

3.2. Test of mediator hypotheses

To test the mediational hypotheses we used the Baron and Kenny (1986) method. Three regression equations test the
linkage of the mediator model: first, regressing the mediator on the independent variable; second, regressing the dependent
variable on the independent variable; third, regressing the dependent variable on both the independent variable and on the
mediator. In the present study, attachment (mother or father attachment) is the independent variable (Fig. 1). Self-esteem
and career indecision are alternatively mediator and dependent variable.
As indicated by Baron and Kenny (1986), to establish mediation several conditions must hold: ‘‘First, the independent var-
iable must affect the mediator in the first equation; second, the independent variable must be shown to affect the dependent
variable in the second equation; and third, the mediator must affect the dependent variable in the third equation. If these
conditions all hold in predicted direction, then the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable must be less
in the third equation than in the second. Perfect mediation holds if the independent variable has no effect when the mediator
is controlled” (Baron & Kenny, 1986, p. 1177). Separate regression analyses for girls and for boys allowed comparing gender.
Since our study is an exploratory one, we used an a level of .05 for all statistical tests.

3.2.1. Global self-esteem as a mediator

To test self-esteem mediation of the relationship between mother attachment and career indecision, we first regressed
global self-esteem on the independent variable – adolescent mother attachment. We then regressed the career indecision
variable on mother attachment. Finally, career indecision was regressed on both the independent variable mother attach-
ment and on the mediator self-esteem. As expected, for the whole sample, R2 = .13, p < .0001, for girls only, R2 = .12,
p < .0001, and for boys only, R2 = .15, p < .0001, adolescent attachment to their mother was positively and significantly re-
lated to global self-esteem. For the whole sample, R2 = .03, p < .01, for girls, R2 = .07, p < .01, but not for boys, mother attach-
ment was negatively and significantly related to career indecision. As career indecision was regressed on both attachment to
mother and self-esteem, for the whole sample, R2 = .24, p < .0001, for the girls, R2 = .28, p < .0001, and for the boys, R2 = .18,
p < .0001, self-esteem was significantly and negatively related to career indecision. When self-esteem was controlled, the
effect of mother attachment, for the whole sample and for girls, was smaller in the third equation than in the second,
and unrelated to career indecision, (see Table 3). For boys, although not significant, this effect of attachment on career inde-
cision was higher after controlling for the self-esteem effect than before controlling for it. These results reveal perfect self-

Table 2
Inter correlation between variables.

Variables 1 2 3 4
1 – Mother attachment –
2 – Father attachment .32*** –
3 – Self-esteem .35*** .37*** –
4 – Career indecision .17** .16* .49*** –
*
p < .05.
**
p < .01.
***
p < .001.
96 V. Emmanuelle / Journal of Vocational Behavior 75 (2009) 91–99

Table 3
Regression analyses with mother attachment, self-esteem and career indecision variables for girls, for boys, and for the entire sample.

Independent variable Dependent variable Sex Total sample (N = 231)

Girls (N = 128) Boys (N = 103)
Mother attachment Self-esteem .35** .39** .36**
Mother attachment Career indecision .27* 0.03 .18*
Self-esteem Career indecision .52** .41** .49**
Mother attachment Career indecision
(controlling for self-esteem) 0.1 0.15 0.002
Mother attachment Self-esteem
(controlling for career indecision) .22* .38** .28**
*
p < .01.
**
p < .001.

esteem mediation of the relationship between mother attachment and career indecision for the entire sample as well as for
the girls alone.
Adolescent father attachment as an independent variable, was tested with the same regression analyses (see Table 4).
Father attachment was positively and significantly related to global self-esteem; for the entire sample R2 = .13, p < .0001,
for girls R2 = .16, p < .0001 and for boys R2 = .07, p < .01. Furthermore, father attachment was negatively and significantly re-
lated to career indecision for the whole sample, R2 = .02, p < .05 and had close to significant levels for the boys, R2 = .03,
p < .08. For the girls however, it was not significantly related to career indecision. As career indecision was regressed on both
father attachment and self-esteem, self-esteem was significantly and negatively related to career indecision for the entire
sample, R2 = .24, p < .0001, for the girls R2 = .29, p < .0001, and for the boys, R2 = .17, p < .0001. For both the entire sample
and the boy sample, father attachment was not related to career indecision when self-esteem was controlled. In conclusion,
the results show that self-esteem mediates the relationship between adolescents’ attachment to their father and their career
indecision for the whole sample and the boys’ sample alone.

3.2.2. Career indecision as a mediator

The relationship between mother attachment and self-esteem was examined with and without controlling for the career
indecision mediator (Table 3). As described previously, mother attachment related negatively and significantly to career inde-
cision for the entire sample and for the girl sample but not for the boy sample. Also, mother attachment related positively and
significantly to global self-esteem for the entire sample, for the girl sample, and for the boy sample. As self-esteem was regressed
on both attachment to mother and career indecision, after controlling career indecision, mother attachment related signifi-
cantly and positively to self-esteem, for the entire sample, R2 = .32, p < .0001, for the girl sample, R2 = .32, p < .0001, and for
the boys, R2 = .31, p < .0001. For the entire sample and for the girl sample, but not for the boy sample, the effect of mother attach-
ment was lower when career indecision was controlled than when it was not controlled (see Table 3). Though the mother
attachment effect was weaker it was present and therefore the mediation of career indecision was not perfect.
We used the same regression analyses to examine career indecision mediating the relationship between father attach-
ment and self-esteem (Table 4). As previously described, father attachment related negatively and significantly related to
career indecision for the entire sample and for the boys but not for the girl sample. It also related positively and significantly
to global self-esteem for the entire sample, for the girl sample and for the boy sample. As self-esteem was regressed on both
father attachment and career indecision, after controlling for career indecision, father attachment related significantly and
positively to self-esteem, for the entire sample, R2 = .33 p < .0001, for the girls, R2 = .40, p < .0001, and for the boys, R2 = .20,

Table 4
Regression analyses with father attachment, self-esteem and career indecision variables for girls, for boys, and for the entire sample.

Independent variable Dependent variable Sex Total sample (N = 231)

Girls (N = 128) Boys (N = 103)
Father attachment Self-esteem .40*** .27** .37***
Father attachment Career indecision 0.1 0.17 .16*
Self-esteem Career indecision .52*** .41*** .49***
Father attachment Career indecision
(controlling for self-esteem) 0.13 0.07 0.03
Father attachment
*** *
(controlling for career indecision) Self-esteem .35 .20 .30***
*
p < .05.
**
p < .01.
***
p < .001.
 V. Emmanuelle / Journal of Vocational Behavior 75 (2009) 91–99 97

p < .0001. For the girl sample the boy sample and the entire sample, the effect of father attachment was weaker when career
indecision was controlled than when it was not controlled (see Table 4). Though the father attachment effect was weaker it
was present and the mediation of career indecision was only partial.

4. Discussion

Boys’ higher scores for self-esteem are consistent with previous studies (e.g., Alsaker & Olweus, 1993; Block & Robins,
1993; Harper & Marshall, 1991). These gender differences are generally explained by a cultural bias, promoting masculinity
that incites boys to be more assertive than girls. Although we did not provide empirical evidence for a cultural bias, this is a
possible explanation.
The results showing boys scoring higher than girls on father attachment are not consistent with previous findings, which
report no significant son and daughter gender differences in parental attachment reports (Armsden, McCauley, Greenberg,
Burke, & Mitchell, 1990; Kenny & Gallagher, 2002; Vignoli et al., 2005). On the other hand, they are consistent with previous
findings that assert stronger paternal involvement with sons than with daughters, and a maternal involvement that does not
appear to be related to the child’s gender (Lamb, 1981).
The results showing girls scoring higher than boys on career indecision measures are not consistent with several previous
studies (e.g., Dosnon et al., 1997; Omvig & Thomas, 1977) that either showed boys as being more indecisive than girls or
showed no relationship between gender and indecision (e.g., Lunneborg, 1976). One explanation for the diverging results
between our study and others studies, is possible differences in the measurement of career indecision. Career indecision
measures often include an indecisiveness subscale, however these two constructs are very different; career indecision is spe-
cific to a domain or situation while indecisiveness can be generalized to decision situations. A person can therefore be unde-
cided in a number of specific situations without being a generally indecisive person. Another important difference is that
some or several items in these tools refer to a level of global career decision or indecision and/or to variables that may be
considered as causal factors or correlates of career indecision. The scale used in the present study refers to different aspects
of the decision-making process: latency, postponement, tendency to avoid decision making, worrying about making deci-
sions, regret and instability of a decision (Germeijs and De Boeck (2002)).
The results provide partial support for our hypothesis that self-esteem mediates the relationship between adolescents’
attachment to parents and their career indecision. The negative relationship between the attachment effect and career inde-
cision, mediated by self-esteem, depends on adolescent and parent gender. Self-esteem mediates the relationship between
girls’ attachment to their mother and their career indecision, as well as the relationship between boys’ attachment to their
father and their career indecision. Similar results were found for the mediating role of career indecision. Career indecision
partially mediates the relationship between girl’s attachment to their mother and their self-esteem. It also partially mediates
the relationship between girls’ and boys’ attachment to their father and their self-esteem.
These results confirm that during school transitions, which are frequently perceived by adolescents as threatening situ-
ations (e.g., Larose & Boivin, 1998; Papini & Rogman, 1992), their feelings of security are related to career decision making.
According to Bowlby (1978), secure attachment provides a base from which one can explore with self-confidence and is re-
lated to identity development by promoting high self-esteem. As emphasized by Tokar et al. (2003), our results confirm that
the development of a secure identity plays an important role in effective career decision making. The results also confirmed
the alternative career indecision mediating hypothesis. As mentioned by Blustein et al. (1995) and by Blustein (2003) in ref-
erence to Erikson (1972), the quality of the adolescent–parent relationship helps adolescents make decisions about their ca-
reer choices by providing a secure base and facilitating the risk-taking associated with the decisional process. The
adolescents’ decision making strengthens their self-esteem, which in turn consolidates ego-identity development.
However, as previously mentioned, the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between attachment and career
indecision and to a lesser extent, the mediating role of career indecision in the relationship between attachment and self-
esteem, both depend on parent and adolescent gender. As suggested by previous studies (Lamb, 1981; Montemayor,
1982; Ross & Spinner, 2001; Youniss & Smollar, 1985), these results favor taking into account the specificity of dyadic rela-
tionships in family interactions. The mediating role of self-esteem and to a lesser extent, the mediating role of career inde-
cision both depend on the gender specificity of the partners within the relationship. According to the Paa & McWhiter (2000)
study, same-sex role models were perceived by adolescents to have greater influence on their career expectations. The ado-
lescent can refer to and identify with the same-sex parent during important life choices (Youniss & Smollar, 1985). The un-
ique relationship between adolescents and same-sex parent promotes adolescent career development by facilitating identity
exploration and enabling clarification of mutual points of view. Consistent with Grotevant and Cooper (1985, p. 425), the
specific nature of the adolescent’s interaction with his or her (same-sex) parent may ‘‘offer a context in which adolescents
consider and refine options for their identity”. This unique interaction strengthens or decreases self-worth and thus, accord-
ing to our study, facilitates or not the adolescent’s decisional processes.
Our findings have important implications for counseling practices. They highlight the importance of focusing on parent
attachment. Our findings also emphasize the importance of taking into account adolescent–parent gender dyads in the rela-
tionship between attachment and self-esteem and in the relationship between attachment and career indecision. In many
families, the different relationships the adolescent may have with his or her same-sex parent and with his or her opposite
sex parent seem to have a different influence on the adolescent’s identity development and career indecision. Assessing the
98 V. Emmanuelle / Journal of Vocational Behavior 75 (2009) 91–99

nature and quality of adolescents’ relationships with their parents might help counselors identify the positive and negative
influences these relationships might have on adolescent career indecision and global self-esteem; facilitating adolescent ca-
reer decisions making and strengthening self-esteem. As suggested by Palladino-Schultheiss (2003), in order to attain health-
ier developmental progress, counselor interventions should facilitate the development and maintenance of mutually
beneficial interactions with others, assisting clients in becoming less reliant on unproductive, unrewarding or ineffective
interactions with others.
A number of limitations should be mentioned in the interpretation of the present findings. First, because all data were
collected in one setting, it is not possible to infer any causal relationships between the variables. Future studies should exam-
ine the interplay between mother attachment or father attachment, global self-esteem and career indecision during adoles-
cence from a longitudinal point of view. A second limitation is the relatively small sample size. The results should therefore
be generalized with caution and future studies aiming to validate these results should include larger boy and girl samples.
Third, given the age of the adolescents in the sample, it is possible that the results and conclusions of this study may be espe-
cially relevant to late adolescence. Despite these limitations, this study contributes to understanding the complex relation-
ships between mother attachment, father attachment, self-esteem and career indecision during adolescence. It constitutes a
step in the direction towards a more detailed study and provides a new framework for understanding undecided adolescents
as well as understanding other adolescent career development issues.

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