Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Cottrell, Catherine

Keywords

Parent-Child Relationships, Students, Parents, Autonomy, Careers, Well-Being

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

College student’s well-being was predicted to be related to their perceptions of autonomy support from their parents, as well as their perceptions of who selected their career path (themselves versus their parents). Seventy-six college students completed questionnaires assessing their level of parental autonomy support, whether they perceived that they had chosen their own career path or that their parents had chosen their career path, their self-esteem, self-worth, and their subjective well-being. Mother autonomy support was positively correlated with self-esteem and self-worth, whereas father autonomy support was positively correlated with self-esteem and subjective well-being. Perception of a self-chosen career was positively correlated with self-esteem and subjective well-being, whereas perception of a mother-chosen and perception of a father-chosen career were positively correlated with self-worth. These results suggest that parental autonomy support may play a part in well-being. Moreover, perceiving that one has chosen one’s own career path relates to one’s well-being, whereas feeling that one’s parents have influenced one’s career path relates to the idea that one derives self-worth from others, particularly family. Further research needs to be conducted to assess whether parental autonomy support and perception of choosing one’s own career path are causally linked to well-being.

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