The relationship of academic major and career choice status to anxiety among college freshmen

This study examines the relationship of career and academic major choice status to levels of state anxiety among undergraduate students. A total of 179 resident freshmen responded to a questionnaire concerning their career development status. On the basis of that information, subjects were arranged within a 2 × 2 factorial design of two dichotomous variables: career choice status (decided/undecided) and major choice status (declared/undeclared). Participants were administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. An analysis of variance of state anxiety scores yielded a significant main effect for career choice status, with subjects reporting they had already decided on a career direction exhibiting lower levels of state anxiety than those who had not.