To be or not to be... indecisive: Gender differences, correlations with obsessive-compulsive complaints, and behavioural manifestation

Indecisiveness can pose a threat to normal daily functioning. In addition, it has been associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Undergraduate students (N = 135) completed the Indecisiveness Scale (Frost & Shows, 1993) and three other measures. It was found that women are more indecisive than men. Furthermore, indecisiveness correlated positively with several obsessive-compulsive complaints (e.g., checking and rumination), but negatively with life satisfaction. Finally, indecisiveness was associated with the number of do-not-know answers on a scale containing political statements that had to be evaluated by participants. The latter finding suggests that indecisive individuals not only need more time to reach a decision, but that they also actually fail to reach decisions. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.