Career Decision-Making Difficulties among Israeli and Palestinian Arab High-School Seniors

Making a career decision becomes a major priority for adolescents during the last year of high school. The present study examined the taxonomy of career decision-making difficulties among 1,613 Arab 12th-grade students attending schools in East Jerusalem, areas in the West Bank under the Palestinian National Authority, and Israel. No significant differences were found among the three locations; gender differences were found in the major category Lack of Readiness and in four scales (lack of motivation, general indecisiveness, lack of information about additional sources, and external conflicts). Implications for counseling high-school students are discussed.