Courage versus Tolerance of Ambiguity among Young Adults Making Career Decisions. The Moderating Effect of Life Orientation

Abstract
The aim of the study was to describe the relationship between courage and tolerance of ambiguity in young adults making career decisions, and to determine whether life orientation, i.e. transitive or moratory, moderates the relationship, and to what extent. A total of 229 people (145 women and 84 men) aged between 19 and 26 took part in the study. Courage was determined using a bespoke adaptation of the Courage Scale, and tolerance of ambiguity using the Tolerance of Ambiguity in Career Decision Making Questionnaire. Life orientation was measured using the KPS-S2 Social Participation Questionnaire. It was found that moratory and transitive orientations moderated the relationship between courage, as the independent variable, and aversion to tolerance of ambiguity, as the dependent variable. The moderation analyses identified an interaction between low and medium moratory orientation and courage, and between medium and high transitive orientation and courage. In both cases, the interaction resulted in a reduction of aversion to tolerance of ambiguity.