The purpose of this study was to investigate a causal model of apathetic tendency, vagueness of motivation to go on to college (VMC), ego-identity, career indecision (CI), and perceived parental attitudes in Korean high school students. A questionnaire was administered to 252 high school students, 124 male and 128 female, in Korea. Results of covariance structure analysis were as follows: Anhedonia, a factor of apathetic tendency, was predicted by VMC in both males and females. Additional predictors of anhedonia for males were ego-identity and CI. In contract, those for females were ego-identity and mother parental attitudes of control and supervision. Therefore, CI had a stronger influence on male apathetic tendency, but female tendency was more influenced by mother attitudes. Negativity-passivity, another factor of apathetic tendency, was predicted by ego-identity in both males and females, and the effect was stronger for males than females. Main findings of the present study suggested that VMC was important as a causal factor of apathetic tendency among Korean high school students, and that clearness of motivations for college education indicates adolescent psychological adjustment.
Key words: apathetic tendency, vagueness of motivation
to go on to college, ego-identity, career
indecision, parental attitudes