Career indecisiveness and parent–child expectation incongruence in self-reliance: Does psychological separation buffer the link?

Few empirical studies have explored the familial impact on career indecisiveness in parent–child dyads. This study aimed to explore how parent–child incongruence in self-reliance is associated with career indecisiveness by conducting a polynomial regression model (PRM) with response surface analysis (RSA). The buffering role of psychological separation was also examined. This sample contained 520 undergraduates (51.35 % female, M age = 21.42 years, SD = 1.25). The final model (i.e., shifted squared difference model ) demonstrated parent–child incongruence in self-reliance, especially discrepancy directions, is predictive of career indecisiveness rather than parental or young adults' career expectations per se. Divergent children with a higher level of parental expectation in self-reliance experienced more career indecisiveness than those with lower levels. Low-level psychological separation may aggravate the association between parent–child incongruence and career indecisiveness. Both theoretical and practical implications were discussed.