In the master's thesis, we investigated the dimensions of perfectionism as factors associated with career decision-making difficulties. The aim of the thesis was to examine the relationship between perfectionism and students' career decision-making difficulties and to identify different profiles of perfectionists among students. We were interested in whether these profiles differed from each other in terms of the extent and type of career difficulties. The study involved 405 fourth-year students from different secondary school programmes who completed the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ) and Perfectionism Scale for Adolescents (LPM). The results showed that maladaptive perfectionism was significantly and positively associated with all career decision-making difficulties. Furthermore, these dimensions also served as explanatory factors for the difficulties observed. However, striving for excellence explained only difficulties with lack of information and internal conflicts. Utilising latent profile analysis, we identified four distinct profiles of perfectionism: pure maladaptive perfectionists, adaptive perfectionists, non-perfectionists, and perfectionists exhibiting all dimensions of perfectionism. An analysis of variance showed that these profiles differ from each other in terms of the extent and type of career problems. We found that maladaptive perfectionism contributes to the occurrence of career decision-making difficulties, while adaptive perfectionism (striving for excellence) may mitigate the risk of certain difficulties. Despite its limitations, our study provides valuable insights for school counsellors involved in career counselling. It contributes to a better understanding of the specific career decision-making challenges faced by Slovenian students.
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